Firefly Aerospace's run of bad luck has continued after the first stage of its Alpha Flight 7 rocket was lost during testing.

By "lost," we don't mean "dropped down the back of the sofa," we mean "experienced an event that resulted in a loss of the stage," in the words of the company.

The launch of the rocket had been scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2025, and the customer was Lockheed Martin.

The incident occurred on the test stand at Firefly's Briggs, Texas, facility. The impact on the stand is still being assessed, although Firefly has confirmed that all personnel are safe.

The loss follows an incident that occurred during an April launch, in which a rupture of the first stage at separation resulted in the detachment of the second stage's engine nozzle. The second stage performed

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