Alpha rocket, owned by the U.S. aerospace company Firefly Aerospace that founded by Ukraine-born entrepreneur Max Polyakov, exploded two and a half minutes after liftoff on Sept. 3.
- “Alpha experienced an anomaly during first stage ascent that resulted in the loss of the vehicle. As we gather more information, additional details will be provided,” the U.S.-based company, co-owned by Ukraine-born entrepreneur Max Polyakov.
- This launch is a big milestone for Ukraine. Polyakov is the first Ukrainian who built and delivered a new rocket to the launch pad in independent Ukraine’s 30-year history.
- Although his company is based in Texas and its executive board consists entirely of Americans to make government contracts easier, it works closely with Ukraine. Firefly has a research and development center in Dnipro, a city of about one million people 480 kilometers southeast of Kyiv, employing 59 of the company’s 475 specialists.
- Polyakov also works with Ukraine’s giant spaceship factory Pivdenmash in Dnipro. Last year, Firefly signed a $15 million contract with a factory to develop rocket parts. Pivdenmash was a legendary enterprise in the 20th century that is now slowly dying due to a lack of contracts.
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