Tag: Astra
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Astra successfully makes orbit on fourth attempt
Smallsat launch startup Astra Space has now joined the short list of companies with a successful orbital rocket. The launch window for the mission, number LV0007, opened on November 18 (November 19 UTC), but a first launch attempt was scrubbed. LV0007 finally lifted off at 10:16 PM PST on November 19 (06:16 UTC on November…
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Astra Space joins broadband internet race with proposal to launch 13,000 satellites
Members of Astra Space’s team prepare a rocket for a launch attempt in Alaska. (Astra Space Photo) Make room for yet another competitor in the market to provide broadband internet access from low Earth orbit: Astra Space, the venture that went public with a helping hand from Seattle-area telecom pioneer Craig McCaw, is asking the…
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Astra completes investigation and schedules next orbital launch attempt
Astra has completed the investigation into the terminated launch of LV0006 in August 2021. A propellant leak caused an engine failure at liftoff, resulting in insufficient thrust to achieve orbit. Design changes have been implemented to address the anomaly for Astra’s next rocket, LV0007. The launch window for LV0007 opens on October 27 and continues…
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Astra’s third orbital launch attempt suffers engine failure and termination
Continuing the iterative path toward reaching orbit, Astra attempted its third orbital launch on Aug. 28. The first Rocket 3.3 vehicle, designated LV0006, lifted off on Saturday, Aug. 28 at 3:35 PM PDT (22:35 UTC). Less than one second after liftoff, an engine on the first stage failed, causing a sideways ascent off the pad.…
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Astra Space launches its first day of public trading with backing from Craig McCaw and Bill Gates
Astra’s Rocket 3.2 sits on its Alaska launch pad before its liftoff in December 2020. (Astra Photo / John Kraus) A California-based space venture called Astra marked its first day as a publicly traded company today, completing a financial transition in which Seattle-area telecom pioneer Craig McCaw played a key role. Astra went public on…
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Astra CEO Chris Kemp previews Rocket 4.0, daily launches, and a smarter planet
In December 2020, Astra launched Rocket 3.2 to space. The successor, Rocket 3.3, will make Astra’s first flight with a payload on board as early as this summer. And by the end of the year, the Rocket 3 series is planned to launch on a monthly basis. In 2022, Astra is planning to debut Rocket…
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After getting a boost from Craig McCaw, Astra rocket venture gets set to go public on July 1
Astra’s Rocket 3.1 blasts off from the company’s launch complex in Alaska. (Astra Photo) Astra, the California-based space startup that’s aiming to merge with a blank-check company founded by Seattle telecom pioneer Craig McCaw, has set a July 1 target date to go public on Nasdaq. That’s the word from Chris Kemp, Astra’s founder, chairman…
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How telecom pioneer Craig McCaw hitched up with Astra rocket venture in $2.1B deal
Astra’s Rocket 3.1 blasts off from the company’s launch complex in Alaska. (Astra Photo) Back in the 1990s, cellular telecom pioneer Craig McCaw bought into a vision of ubiquitous wireless service via a constellation of satellites, with an assist from Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates. Almost a quarter-century later, McCaw’s Teledesic venture is long-dead, but the…
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U.S. companies, led by SpaceX, launched more than any other country in 2020
A Falcon 9 rocket soars into the sky with 60 Starlink internet satellites after liftoff Oct. 18 from pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Credit: SpaceX Leading all other nations, U.S. launch providers flew 44 missions in 2020 that aimed to place payloads in Earth orbit or deep space, with 40 successes.…
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Preparing for “Earth to Earth” space travel and a competition with supersonic airliners
Commercial spaceflight companies are preparing to enter a new market: suborbital flights from one place to another on Earth. Aiming for fast transportation for passengers and cargo, these systems are being developed by a combination of established companies, such as SpaceX and Virgin Galactic, and new ones like Astra. Technical and business challenges lie ahead…