The race to space starts slow, with thoughtful engineering and meticulous planning. But, then, things start to heat up when it's time to test fire those powerful engines that will one day blast the rocket into low Earth orbit.
That's what going on north of Austin in area just outside the small town of Briggs. Cedar Park-based Firefly has its test firing facility set up there, and last weekend it performed its latest rocket tests.
During the tests, which you can watch below, four Reaver engines roared for 35 seconds in an effort to test thrust vector control maneuvers. The company called it "a major step" that will lead up to its first flight.
Firefly has experienced a few delays due to the Covid-19 pandemic. But Eric Salwan, director of commercial business development at Firefly, says the company is targeting its first launch by the end of the year.
Firefly's Alpha rocket will carry small satellites into low Earth orbit, and it's designed to carry up to one metric ton. The company plans to offer up to two launches per month. While the company's work has been on the ground, to date, it has signed several launch services agreements, including deals with ISILAUNCH, Spaceflight and Satlantis earlier this year.
Now, let's check out those rockets in action.
Firefly has had a series of successful test fires as it gets closer to its first launch. But, in January, it had a small fire break out in an engine bay at the base of the rocket. The test was quickly aborted, the team evacuated and the fire extinguishing system kicked in -- no one was hurt. But the incident caused some alarm, causing nearby US-183 to be closed down briefly.
In one of the company's more playful tests in June, the company let the rockets light the candles on a birthday cake in celebration of the company co-founder Max Polyakov’s birthday.
