Firefly Aerospace’s Alpha rocket suffered a technical failure after launch on Tuesday, causing a Lockheed Martin satellite to crash into the Pacific Ocean.
About two minutes after liftoff from Vandenberg Space Force Base, Alpha’s upper-stage engine nozzle broke off during separation, "substantially reducing the engine's thrust," Firefly said.
Despite continuing to ascend to 320 kilometres, the rocket failed to reach orbit and reentered the atmosphere, impacting safely north of Antarctica.
The mission, Alpha’s sixth, was meant to carry Lockheed’s LM 400 Technology Demonstrator, designed to test technologies for defence clients. A Lockheed spokesman said lessons from the project would benefit future customers.
Firefly’s livestream showed debris detaching during ascent, and the company later deleted an initial post acknowledging a lower-than-planned orbit. An investigation with Lockheed, the U.S. Space Force, and FAA is underway.
The failure marks Alpha’s fourth setback in six attempts since 2021. Firefly, aiming to compete with SpaceX, has seen mixed fortunes, including a moon landing earlier this year.
Overnight Russian strikes on the city of Sumy, northeast Ukraine, have killed one woman and injured a man, the country's State Emergency Servic...
Iran's military has threatened to launch sustained attacks on U.S. bases and interests across the Middle East if Washington resumes milita...
The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) took first place in state elections in northeastern Germany on Sunday,...
Saudi civil defence sent an all-clear on Saturday after issuing alerts for a second time for potential danger in Riyadh and the city of Al-Kharj east of the capital, amid an uptick in attacks by Iran-aligned Houthis on the Gulf country.
Houthi attacks target Riyadh amid concerns over Saudi oil supplies, as Iran says it will not reopen the Strait of Hormuz until its conditions are met and U.S. commitments are implemented, parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said on Sunday.
The U.S. State Department approved a $2.7 billion military sale to Ukraine for air-defence development upgrades, along with related equipment and services, the department said. Meanwhile, Ukrainian authorities reported at least 10 people had died in Russian attacks over the last 24 hours.
The death toll from an overnight Russian attack on the Kyiv region rose to four, including three children, Kyiv regional authorities said on Sunday. A mother and her two 3-year-old children were killed when a Russian drone strike hit a private home, the emergency service said.
Russian authorities have reported attacks on voting systems and communication lines as the country’s parliamentary election entered its second day on Saturday (19 September).
U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Saturday (19 September) the creation of an “AI Force” and plans to appoint an artificial intelligence (AI) czar, while rejecting calls to slow the development of increasingly powerful AI systems.
Google’s Gemini AI model accessed the internet and hacked three companies during a cybersecurity test, in what is believed to be the first known case of the company’s AI systems autonomously carrying out such activity.
Here's your AnewZ Daily Brief for 18 September 2026. These are the top five stories making headlines in the field of science.
French prosecutors have launched a criminal investigation into suspected sexual harassment involving smart glasses, amid mounting global concern over the privacy risks posed by the devices.
Some of the world’s most powerful technology executives are lobbying U.S. President Donald Trump over artificial intelligence regulation, exposing growing divisions within the industry over how governments should respond to rapidly advancing AI.
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