Share the news to friends and circles of friends with wechat scanning QR code < / P > < p > on September 3. On Thursday night, local time, there was a major abnormality in the launch of the first alpha rocket of the space company firefly aerospace, which exploded in the air < p > < / P > < p > illustration: the alpha rocket exploded 2 minutes and 30 seconds after launch < / P > < p > it is reported that firefly's alpha rocket conducted its first orbital flight test at Vandenberg space force base in California and launched at 9:59 p.m. Eastern time. Everything was normal for two and a half minutes after the rocket took off. But then the rocket exploded in the air, forming a huge fireball < p > the representative of firefly company said, "the alpha rocket encountered abnormalities during the rising phase of the combustion of the primary booster, resulting in the loss of equipment. We will provide more details later. " < p > it is not easy for a new rocket to enter space. Experts said that the first rocket launch of firefly's competitors in the field of small satellite launch, such as rocket laboratory, virgin orbit and Astra, was unsuccessful < p > in this launch attempt, the alpha rocket carried a payload called "special research and education accelerator mission" (dream), weighing about 92 kg. Dream includes souvenirs submitted by educational institutions and some microsatellites. The company plans to take the device into orbit 300 kilometers from the earth's surface. In addition, the rocket will also test some components of the space utility vehicle orbital transfer vehicle being developed by firefly < p > firefly aims to gain more share in the growing small satellite launch market through alpha rockets. The company said that the one-time two-stage rocket costs US $15 million for a single launch and can transport a ton of payload to low earth orbit < p > in addition, firefly is also developing a large rocket called beta and an unmanned lunar module called blue ghost. It plans to transport payloads to the lunar surface for NASA in 2023 < p > firefly also plans to build a reusable space plane called gamma, which can launch satellites and provide ultra-high-speed point-to-point transportation services on earth（ Chen Chen) < / P > < p >