Firefly Aerospace's Alpha rocket explodes on test stand in Texas

The first stage of Firefly Aerospace's 96-foot-tall Alpha rocket exploded while the spacecraft was vertical on a test stand in Briggs, Texas.

Firefly made a name for itself in 2025 when its Blue Ghost lunar lander became the second-ever commercial spacecraft to make it to the surface of the moon.

The explosion is the latest setback for Firefly's Alpha rocket. A part of it crashed into the Pacific Ocean during an April mission.

A violent rocket explosion in Texas recently sent a cascade of fire and plumes of billowing smoke into the air that was captured on video.

Firefly Aerospace's Alpha rocket blew up in dramatic fashion while the company was testing and preparing the spacecraft in late September at its central Texas facility for an impending launch from the West Coast. But things