Firefly Aerospace has successfully launched an Alpha rocket into space, decorated with the colors of the Ukrainian flag. Photos and video

The space company Firefly Aerospace has successfully launched the second Alpha rocket, which was developed by a Ukrainian team. It took place from the US Space Force's Wadenberg base.

This was announced by the company's founder and former co-owner, Ukrainian businessman Max Polyakov, on Facebook. He noted that the rocket was painted with the colors of the Ukrainian flag (to see photos and videos, scroll to the bottom of the page) .

"This is a message to all those who can read between the lines. Glory to Ukraine!" Polyakov wrote.

The rocket delivered several microsatellites into orbit - two CubeSat educational and scientific satellites and five PicoSats. This was reported by Space.com.

There is also a capsule with 128 post cards from students from all over the United States.

This was the second attempt at an Alpha orbital launch. Its main goal was to test all rocket systems. The first launch took place in September 2021, but then one of the launch vehicle engines failed, leading to the failure of the mission.

The second attempt was much more successful. The launch vehicle stages successfully separated 2.5 minutes after takeoff, and the second stage reached orbit five minutes later.

Firefly became the third private company to successfully reach orbit on the second attempt. Previously, it was done by Rocket Lab and Richard Branson's Virgin Orbit. No other private company has succeeded in doing so on the first attempt.

The main investor and shareholder of Firefly Aerospace was Ukrainian Maxim Polyakov. Five years ago, he bought the company's assets after bankruptcy and invested about $210 million in it.

However, on December 29, 2021, it became known that the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) demanded that the Ukrainian sell his stake in Firefly Aerospace.

According to Bloomberg, representatives of the US government and the aerospace industry have expressed concerns that valuable technology could end up in Ukraine, Russia, or other countries trying to develop missile programs.

In February of this year, Polyakov sold his stake for a symbolic sum.

As OBOZREVATEL reported, on September 3, 2021, the Ukrainian's company Firefly Aerospace launched a rocket into space for the first time.

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