New rocket, Firefly's Alpha, may be ready to launch by April By (0) An illustration shows the Blue Ghost lunar lander on the surface of the moon, which is a mission planned in 2023. Image courtesy Firefly Aerospace ORLANDO, Fla., Feb. 26 (UPI) -- Texas-based Firefly Aerospace plans to launch its new Alpha rocket from California in April and send a lunar lander to the moon by 2023. The 95-foot-high launch vehicle is designed to lift satellite payloads that weigh just over a ton into low-Earth orbit, or slightly lighter loads to a higher orbit. Advertisement Firefly has existed for only four years, and would join a small, but growing, group of private companies that can reach space with their own rockets, including SpaceX, Rocket Lab, Virgin Orbit and Astra.