Rocket Report: India wants its own SpaceX, Firefly targets July for Alpha launch

Enlarge / NASA's Space Launch System rocket will be rolling back to the launch pad in early June. (credit: Trevor Mahlmann)

Welcome to Edition 4.45 of the Rocket Report! Just as a programming note, I'll be traveling during the second half of next week for a family reunion, so there may or (may not) be a report next week. Thank you for your patience.

As always, we welcome reader submissions, and if you don't want to miss an issue, please subscribe using the box below (the form will not appear on AMP-enabled versions of the site). Each report will include information on small-, medium-, and heavy-lift rockets as well as a quick look ahead at the next three launches on the calendar.

Firefly targets July for second Alpha launch attempt. Nine months have passed since Firefly's Alpha rocket launched for the first time, lifting off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Unfortunately, one of the rocket's four main engines failed about 15 seconds into the flight, and the rocket was lost about two minutes later. The period since then has been a difficult one for the company and its founder, Tom Markusic. In addition to dissecting the cause of the Alpha failure, Firefly also ran afoul of rules set by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, CFIUS.