Fly Aerospace (FLY +0.13%) stock soared 16.7% through 2:10 p.m. ET Thursday after the space stock announced, just last night, its return to flight.
Just ahead of 9 p.m. last night, Alpha Flight 7 from Firefly's Space Launch Complex 2 at the Vandenberg Space Force Base, delivering to orbit a demonstrator payload for customer Lockheed Martin (LMT 0.20%).
Image source: Getty Images.
A successful return to space
This was Firefly's first flight since its unsuccessful Alpha Flight 6 launch back in April of last year (which also carried a demonstration satellite for Lockheed). That launch failed when, just after stage separation, the rocket's first-stage booster broke apart, damaging the second-stage engine, causing the second stage to fail to achieve orbital velocity -- and causing both the rocket and the payload to fall out of orbit.
Firefly has now proven it has fixed the problem that doomed Flight 6. The company also tested some improvements to the Alpha rocket, preparatory to launching a new, upgraded, and enlarged Block II version of Alpha at a later date: Alpha Flight 8.
NASDAQ: FLY
Key Data Points
What does it mean for Firefly Aerospace?
A failed Flight 7 would have been bad news for Firefly, putting in question the company's ability to continue launching the only rocket it currently has in service, and delaying future launch revenue by additional months. But now Firefly's back on track, and analyst forecasts for future revenue look much more secure.
In that regard, for 2026, forecasts are for Firefly to rack up $446 million in sales -- roughly triple its 2025 business. The stock still won't be profitable; analysts don't expect profits to emerge before 2027. But Firefly's business is moving up and to the right, and its trajectory looks nominal.
It makes the stock would do likewise.
