{"id":12226,"date":"2020-09-14T19:40:03","date_gmt":"2020-09-14T11:40:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/software-fix-could-position-astra-for-another-launch-attempt-by-end-of-year\/"},"modified":"2020-09-14T19:40:03","modified_gmt":"2020-09-14T11:40:03","slug":"software-fix-could-position-astra-for-another-launch-attempt-by-end-of-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/software-fix-could-position-astra-for-another-launch-attempt-by-end-of-year\/","title":{"rendered":"Software fix could position Astra for another launch attempt by end of year"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Astra\u2019s Rocket 3.1 vehicle lifts off Friday night from Kodiak Island, Alaska. Credit: Astra \/ John Kraus<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Astra officials said Saturday a software fix will likely resolve a guidance system problem that caused the company\u2019s first orbital-class rocket to begin drifting off course soon after liftoff from Alaska Friday night, prompting a range safety officer to terminate the mission.<\/p>\n

Astra\u2019s Rocket 3.1 launch vehicle took off from the Pacific Spaceport Complex on Kodiak Island, Alaska, at 11:19 p.m. EDT Friday (7:19 p.m. Alaska time; 0319 GMT Saturday).<\/p>\n

Around 30 seconds later, the rocket\u2019s five stage engines shut down and the 38-foot-tall (11.6-meter) rocket fell back to the ground and exploded on impact in a part of the spaceport that was cleared of personnel before launch.<\/p>\n

The result was not unexpected after Astra officials set modest goals for the test flight. The private space company \u2014 headquartered in Alameda, California \u2014 said it planned a series of three test launches before it expects to reach orbit with its commercial rocket.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe said back earlier this year it would probably take about three flights to reach orbit,\u201d said Chris Kemp, Astra\u2019s co-founder and CEO. \u201cThis first flight, we learned a lot. We have a tremendous amount of data. We\u2019re really pleased that the rocket flew, and we collected a ton of data. We still have a lot of work to do to reach orbit, and we believe that our next flight will take us one more big step in that direction.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kemp said Astra\u2019s engineers were \u201cincredibly excited\u201d for Friday night\u2019s test flight.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe saw a beautiful launch last night,\u201d he said Saturday. \u201cIt was our first orbital launch (attempt).\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam London, Astra\u2019s co-founder and chief technology officer, said Saturday that the Rocket 3.1 vehicle performed well in early portion of the flight after lifting off from a mobile launch pad on Kodiak Island.<\/p>\n

\u201cHowever, our guidance system appeared to introduce some slight roll oscillations into the flight, which caused the vehicle to drift from its planned trajectory enough that the ground issued a commanded shutdown of the engines via the flight safety system,\u201d London said.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo the engines shut down, and then the rocket landed in a safe area,\u201d London said in a virtual press conference Saturday. \u201cNever were there concerns about safety. It remained fully within the controlled and expected area throughout the whole time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Astra uses a thrust termination for its range safety system, similar to the design of flight safety systems used on many international rockets. The Federal Aviation Administration, which regulates commercial launches by U.S. companies, approved the plan in its launch license for Astra.<\/p>\n

Kemp said an explosive destruct system, such as those used by large rockets launching from other U.S. spaceports, is not required for Astra because of the small size of its launcher.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can actually just cause the rocket to safely land within the safety area by commanding the engines to stop,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s a very effective technique.\u201d<\/p>\n