To alleviate growing congestion at launch sites in Florida and California, Firefly Aerospace plans to commence launching its Alpha rocket from Virginia and Sweden as early as 2026. In June 2024, Firefly announced its intention to utilize an existing pad at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport in Virginia (currently used by Northrop Grumman's Antares rocket) and a new pad at Esrange Space Centre in Sweden.

Adam Oakes, Firefly's vice president of launch vehicles, confirmed these plans at the Global Spaceport Alliance meeting on January 27th. He emphasized the need to circumvent congestion at Vandenberg and Cape Canaveral, stating, “There is a traffic jam and basic things like the weather are going to be the biggest holdup.” He lauded the Esrange partnership, describing it as the “perfect partnership” and “the biggest softball of all the opportunities out there,” given Esrange's extensive experience with sounding rockets and ground stations.

Firefly anticipates five Alpha launches in 2025, all from Vandenberg. The company aims for its first Alpha launch from Wallops in the first quarter of 2026 and from Esrange by late 2026 or early 2027. Oakes noted that 2026 will be a busy year for Firefly, though specific launch numbers remain unannounced. The company’s Alpha rocket has launched five times to date.

Paul Cremins, head of spaceflight at the UK's Department for Transport, discussed the broader theme of improving interoperability between launch sites internationally. He highlighted the challenges of sharing launch facilities, stating, “if you’re investing a lot of money in those pads and everything else, you’re not going to share it with your rivals.” He suggested streamlining regulations across borders to facilitate launches from multiple countries.

Firefly is actively addressing regulatory hurdles for its Esrange launches. Oakes acknowledged the challenges, stating, “The regulatory piece can really put you back if you want to let it. We have a lot of paperwork in place. We’re not quite there on everything but things are moving in the right direction.”