Firefly highlights Alpha Flight 8 progress with AFP composite barrel builds
SNAPSHOT: Planned Alpha rocket upgrades for improved mission payload capacity, reliability and manufacturing are in the integration and testing phase.
Source | Firefly Aerospace LinkedIn
Progress has been made toward Alpha Flight 8, a forthcoming mission targeted for late Q2 2026 by Firefly Aerospace (Cedar Park, Texas, U.S.). The space company posted on LinkedIn on April 22 that it is in the integration and test phase, hitting stride on its automated fiber placement (AFP) machine supplied by Ingersol Machine Tools (Rockford, Ill., U.S.), with the simultaneous build of four carbon fiber composite barrels for multiple flights, one of which is shown above. “These automated manufacturing processes allow us to enhance quality and reliability across the vehicle as part of our Alpha Block II upgrade,” says Firefly.
The upcoming mission will debut the upgraded Block II configuration of the company’s Alpha rocket announced in January 2026. It features a 7-foot length increase, in-house avionics and improved structural strength to enhance payload capacity, reliability and manufacturing efficiency for commercial and national security missions. Test flights were performed in February to validate these upgrades.
Stay up to date through Firefly Aerospace’s LinkedIn page.
Related Content
-
Enabling thermoplastic composites with towpreg tailored for automation
As Suprem SA prepares for its 40th year in TPC materials and entry into the U.S. aerospace market, CW learns more about this company renowned for quality and its vision to deliver new products.
-
Design for manufacturing, assembly and automation enables complex CFRP telescope supports
Airborne delivered two mirror support structures for the FYST and SOLAT telescopes, assembling 26,300 components while maintaining near-zero CTE, strict tolerances on 6.5 × 6.5 × 1.8-meter assemblies.
-
Proving thermoplastic composites match carbon fiber/epoxy performance in road bikes
CDCQ, LxSim, Addcomp and Argon 18 collaborate to optimize a carbon fiber/PA6 bike seat post, democratizing AFP and demonstrating materials and process for future designs and production.
