Launch Preview: Firefly to launch Alpha, SpaceX to launch three Starlink missions

Date:
Mon, 16 Feb 2026 23:04:49 +0000

Description:
After a brief grounding earlier this month following the Starlink Group 17-32 second stage deorbit The post Launch Preview: Firefly to launch Alpha, SpaceX to launch three Starlink missions appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com .

FULL STORY ======================================================================

After a brief grounding earlier this month following the Starlink Group 17-32 second stage deorbit anomaly, SpaceXs Falcon 9 returns to a regular cadence
of flights with three Starlink missions this week. However, SpaceX is not the only U.S. launch provider flying this week, as Firefly Space is returning its Alpha to flight following the failed Message In A Booster mission in April 2025.

This weeks flights are scheduled from California and Florida, with Vandenberg Space Force Base (VSFB) in California hosting Starlink and Firefly launches. Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS) in Florida will host Falcon 9 Starlink launches while Launch Complex 39A at the nearby Kennedy Space Center has had its crew access arm removed and is being prepared for Starship launches later this year.





Falcon 9 | Starlink Group 6-103

The first launch of the week flew from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at
the CCSFS in Florida on Monday, Feb. 16, at 2:59 AM EST (07:59 UTC), within a four-hour window that ended at 4:00 AM EST (09:00 UTC). Falcon 9 launched the Starlink Group 6-103 mission to low-Earth orbit (LEO), placing 29 Starlink v2 Mini satellites into a 257 by 271-km initial parking orbit inclined 43 degrees.

Falcon booster B1090 launched on a southeast trajectory and landed atop SpaceXs A Shortfall of Gravitas droneship in the Atlantic. This mission
served as B1090s 10th mission, having previously flown the O3b mPOWER 7 & 8, Crew-10, Bandwagon-3, O3b mPOWER 9 & 10, CRS-33, and four Starlink missions.

As SpaceX adds to the Starlink constellation, the service recently announced it now has 10 million subscribers. Southwest Airlines will now also offer Starlink Wi-Fi on many of its planes, joining the ranks of air carriers that have adopted the satellite broadband service due to its worldwide reach and speed.



Falcon 9 | Starlink Group 10-36

The second Falcon 9 launch of the week is scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 18, from SLC-40 at 5:00 PM EST (22:00 UTC). The four-hour launch window for Starlink Group 10-36 lasts until 9:00 PM EST on Feb. 18 (02:00 UTC on Feb. 19).

Flying on its 27th mission, booster B1077 will take a southeast trajectory
and land on Just Read the Instructions in Bahamian waters. B1077s career started with the Crew-5 flight, and the booster would go on to fly the GPS
III SV06, Inmarsat I-6 F2, CRS-28, Galaxy 37, CRS NG-20, Optus-X, and 18 Starlink missions.

The 29 Starlink v2 Mini satellites will be deployed into a LEO inclined at 53.16 degrees. This flight will be the 20th Falcon 9 launch of 2026.



Falcon 9 | Starlink Group 17-25

Starlink Group 17-25 is scheduled to launch out of Space Launch Complex 4E (SLC-4E) at VSFB on Thursday, Feb. 19, at 12:00 AM PST (08:00 UTC), at the start of a four-hour window ending at 4:00 AM PST (12:00 UTC). Falcon 9 will place 25 Starlink v2 Mini satellites into a LEO inclined 97.29 degrees.

Booster B1063, flying on its 31st mission, will take a southerly trajectory and will land on Of Course I Still Love You in the Pacific. The veteran booster started its career with the Sentinel 6A-Michael Freilich mission and also flew the DART asteroid redirection mission, Transporter 7, Iridium-9 & OneWeb #19, Transport and Tracking Layer (Tranche 0B), NROL-113, NROL-167, NROL-149, NAOS (LuxeoSys & Others), and 21 Starlink missions.

The Starlink flights for B1063 included Starlink V1 L28 in 2021, along with the failed Starlink Group 9-3 mission in July 2024. Starlink Group 9-3 suffered an anomaly in the second stage that manifested itself as ice near
the nozzle during ascent and a failed second burn prior to payload
deployment. The satellites reentered the atmosphere without being able to boost themselves to their operational orbit.

This flight will be the 21st Falcon 9 launch of 2026. Alpha on the pad at SLC-2W. (Credit: Firefly Aerospace)

Alpha Block 1 FLTA007 | Stairway to Seven

Firefly Aerospace is returning the Alpha vehicle to flight after a ten-month stand down following the failed FLTA006 Message In A Booster mission, with Alpha FLTA007 scheduled to launch the Stairway to Seven mission on Friday, Feb. 20, from Space Launch Complex-2W (SLC-2W) on the north side of VSFB. Launch is scheduled for 4:20 PM PST (00:20 UTC Feb. 21), and the launch
window lasts until 7:46 PM PST on Feb. 20 (03:46 UTC on Feb. 21).

The Stairway to Seven mission will be the last flight of the current
iteration of the Alpha vehicle, and will test some systems in shadow mode for the upcoming Alpha Block II rocket that will debut with the rockets next mission. These systems include avionics built in-house as well as thermal improvements, gaining flight heritage before Block IIs debut.

FLTA006s flight was going well until stage separation, which knocked the second stages nozzle off of the second stages engine. The flight almost made orbit, but the lack of a nozzle and subsequent performance degradation was
too much to overcome. Firefly added thermal protection, adjusted ascent trajectories, and strengthened flight components in response to the failure.
A Firefly Alpha Block II second stage undergoing qualification testing in Briggs, Texas. (Credit: Firefly Aerospace)

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) cleared Alpha to fly again in September 2025, but the first stage intended to fly FLTA007 suffered a combustion event in one of its engines during a test later that month,
leading to the loss of that stage. Firefly noted the anomaly was due to a process error during integration and made changes to prevent this in the future.

The FLTA007 rocket will not fly a payload and fly on a southwest trajectory out of VSFB to place its second stage into a retrograde orbit going against the direction of Earths rotation. A successful flight will give Firefly confidence prior to the introduction of Alpha Block II, which features a roughly two-meter increase in length over the current version, optimized fuel tank configurations for increased burn time, and the improvements that will
be tested on FLTA007.

This flight is Alphas first of the year, and the next flight, VICTUS HAZE Jackal, is scheduled for the second quarter of 2026. VICTUS HAZE Jackal will fly the Jackal Autonomous Orbital Vehicle for the U.S. Space Forces
Tactically Responsive Space program.

Falcon 9 | Starlink Group 6-104

Starlink Group 6-104 is set to launch from SLC-40 at 9:04 PM EST on Feb. 21 (02:04 UTC on Feb. 22) at the start of a four-hour window lasting until 1:04 AM on Feb. 22 (06:04 UTC). Booster B1067 will set a new record for the number of flights by a single Falcon 9 booster at 33, and will fly on a
southeasterly trajectory out of the Cape. The booster will land atop A Shortfall of Gravitas in the Atlantic.



B1067 started its long career with the CRS-22 mission in the summer of 2021, and later flew the Crew-3, Turksat 5B, Crew-4, CRS-25, Hotbird 13G, O3b
mPower 1 & 2, Satria, Merah Putih 2, Galileo FOC FM26 & FM32, Koreasat 6A,
and 21 Starlink missions prior to Starlink Group 6-104.

The second stage will deploy the missions 28 Starlink v2 Mini satellites into a LEO inclined at 43 degrees. This flight will be the 22nd Falcon 9 launch of 2026, with the company hoping to meet or exceed its record total of 165
Falcon family launches in 2025.

Falcon 9 | Starlink Group 17-26

Just under 48 hours after the scheduled Firefly Alpha launch, the south side of VSFB will host yet another Falcon 9 Starlink mission. Starlink Group 17-26 is scheduled to fly from SLC-4E on Sunday, Feb. 22, at 12:00 PM PST (20:00 UTC) at the start of a four-hour window lasting until 4:00 PM PST (00:00 UTC on Feb. 23).

B1093, on its 11th mission, will fly on a due south trajectory out of VSFB. The booster will land on Of Course I Still Love You , which will be stationed downrange in the Pacific. The booster previously flew two Tranche 1 missions for the U.S. Space Forces Space Development Agency and eight Starlink missions.

The second stage will deploy the 25 Starlink v2 Mini satellites into a LEO inclined at 97.29 degrees. This flight will be the 23rd Falcon 9 launch of
the year, and the 41st orbital launch attempt of 2026.

(Lead image: Falcon 9 launches from Florida. Credit: Julia Bergeron for NSF)



The post Launch Preview: Firefly to launch Alpha, SpaceX to launch three Starlink missions appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com .



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Link to news story: https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2026/02/launch-preview-021626/


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