We'll likely have to wait a while to see Firefly Aerospace's Alpha rocket take to the skies again.

The first stage of the rocket that Firefly was prepping to make Alpha's seventh-ever flight exploded on Monday (Sept. 29) during a preflight trial.

"During testing at Firefly's facility in Briggs, Texas, the first stage of Firefly's Alpha Flight 7 rocket experienced an event that resulted in a loss of the stage," the Texas-based company wrote in an update on Monday afternoon. "Proper safety protocols were followed, and all personnel are safe. The company is assessing the impact to its stage test stand, and no other facilities were impacted."

It's another setback for Firefly, which suffered a failure during its most recent Alpha launch this past April.

During that mission, called "Message

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