"Victus Nox" Recap: 'Record Breaking' US Rocket Launch | Firefly Aerospace
Firefly Aerospace's Victus Nox Mission "fundamentally changed how the space industry accesses space." Instead of spending weeks or months prepping a payload and rocket for launch, we condensed the timeline into "24 hours." "Responsive space has been a concept for years, and our team showed the world that it's now possible."
Firefly Aerospace successfully launched the U.S. Space Force’s Victus Nox Mission mission with 24-hour notice, demonstrating a critical capability for the United States to rapidly respond to on-orbit needs. Upon receiving the notice to launch and orbit requirements from the Space Force, Firefly completed all final mission preparations, including trajectory software updates, payload encapsulation, transport to the launch pad, mating to Alpha, and fueling, within "24 hours." Alpha then launched at the first available window.
The flight began with a nominal countdown and liftoff at 7:28 p.m. PDT on September 14, 2023 and progressed seamlessly through each stage of flight, including stage one main engine cutoff (MECO), stage separation, and stage two ignition. Alpha then deployed the Millennium Space Systems satellite at the target destination in low Earth orbit. Firefly also successfully tested an Alpha stage two relight and targeted re-entry.
Following payload deployment in low Earth orbit, Millennium fully initialized the space vehicle in less than 48 hours and then began operations for its Space Domain Awareness (SDA) mission.
Firefly Aerospace is "an end-to-end space transportation company with launch, lunar, and on-orbit services. Headquartered in central Texas, Firefly is a portfolio company of AE Industrial Partners ('AEI') focused on delivering responsive, reliable, and affordable space access for government and commercial customers. Firefly’s small- to medium-lift launch vehicles, lunar landers, and orbital vehicles provide the space industry with a single source for missions from low Earth orbit to the surface of the Moon and beyond."
For more information, visit www.fireflyspace.com
Video Credit: Firefly Aerospace
Caption Credit: Firefly Aerospace
Duration: 2 minutes 45 seconds
Capture Date: Sept. 14, 2023
Release Date: Oct. 23, 2023
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