Astra’s Rocket 3.2 on the launch pad. (Credit: John Kraus)
ALAMEDA, Calif., August 12, 2021 (Astra Space PR) — Astra Space, Inc. (“Astra”) (NASDAQ: ASTR), named Spire Global, Inc., as a launch customer, with plans to begin launching with Astra next spring.
“Our platform requires regular and reliable access to space,” said Robert Sproles, Senior Director, Constellation Planning and Operations at Spire Global Inc. “Astra’s dedicated launch service will provide the flexibility to deliver our satellites to the specific orbits they require, on our schedule.”
Video Caption: The Final System Test, also known as the “hot fire” engine test for Astra’s Launch Vehicle 0006. Astra is hoping the third time will be a charm. The publicly-traded launch provider will make another attempt to reach orbit with its Rocket 3 booster late this month from Pacific Spaceport Complex — Alaska on Kodiak Island. The window for the launch attempt opens on Aug. 27 and runs until […]
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the company’s Crew Dragon spacecraft is launched from Launch Complex 39A on NASA’s SpaceX Demo-2 mission to the International Space Station with NASA astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley aboard, Saturday, May 30, 2020, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida (Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls & Joel Kowsky)
by Douglas Messier Managing Editor
The United States reclaimed the top spot in launches from China last year as NASA astronauts flew into orbit from American soil for the first time in nearly nine years, SpaceX deployed the world’s first satellite mega-constellation with reused rockets, and two new launchers debuted with less than stellar results.
American companies conducted 44 launches in 2020, with 40 successes and four failures. Bryce Tech reports that U.S. companies accounted for 32 of the 41 commercial launches conducted last year. The majority of those flights were conducted by SpaceX, which launched 25 orbital missions.
China came in second with a record of 35 successful launches and four failures. The 39 launch attempts tied that nation’s previous record for flights during a calendar year.
Let’s take a closer look at what U.S. companies achieved last year.
Note: Story updated with information about ABL Space Systems’ RS1 booster.
by Douglas Messier Managing Editor
Rocket Lab’s announcement that it is developing the medium-lift Neutron rocket focused on launching satellite constellations was an inevitable consequence of SpaceX getting into the rideshare business.
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. (NASA PR) — NASA has selected Astra Space Inc. to provide a launch service for the agency’s Time-Resolved Observations of Precipitation Structure and Storm Intensity with a Constellation of SmallSats (TROPICS) mission. The TROPICS mission consists of a constellation of six CubeSats and will increase the scientific community’s understanding of storm processes. The launch service contract for the TROPICS mission is a firm fixed-price contract valued at $7.95 million. […]
