The anomaly came about a month after the FAA issued a Return to Flight determination for Firefly’s Alpha rockets following an anomaly experienced during Alpha Flight 6 in April.
Firefly is working in partnership with Northrop Grumman on the rockets, which are expected to make their launch debuts in 2025. The infrastructure expansion in Briggs, Texas, boosts the company’s manufacturing space from 92,000 to 207,000 square feet.
It’s Steve Clarke’s job to merge the goals of space scientists with NASA’s strategic plans for exploring the solar system, two factors which are not always in lock-step, as the space agency seeks to return humans to the moon, and eventually send astronauts to Mars.
