The company’s LV0010 rocket is on the launch pad at Cape Canaveral, Florida, ahead of NASA’s TROPICS-1 mission.
Astra
–
–
–
rocket builder arrow Astra It fell sharply during trading Monday after a weekend launch of NASA satellites failed to reach orbit.
The Astra LV0010 rocket launched Sunday from Launch Complex 46 in Cape Canaveral, Florida, with two satellites on NASA’s TROPICS-1 mission. The first part of the mission went as planned, but the motor in the upper part of the rocket stalled prematurely and the company was unable to deploy the satellites.
“We are reviewing flight data to determine the cause of this anomaly and will provide additional information when it becomes available,” Astra wrote when filing the securities.
Astra shares are down a whopping 25% from its previous close of $2.02 per share. The TROPICS-1 mission marks the company’s second mission failure in three launches this year.
In a tweet, Chris Kemp, CEO of Astra, noted that NASA must have four of the six planned TROPICS satellites in orbit to succeed, so “the next two launches must succeed.” TROPICS-1 was the first of three missions awarded to Astra by NASA.
“Our team understands what’s at stake,” Kemp said.
The company’s vehicle has a height of 43 feet and is considered a small rocket in the launch market. Astra’s goal is to launch as many of its small rockets as possible — aiming to reach an average of one per day by 2025 — and lower the $2.5 million price tag.
Astra went public last year After the completion of the SPAC merger, fundraising to produce its own small missilesextensive The facilities are located in Alameda, Californiaand development of spacecraft and spaceport business units.
–
–
