Astra (American spaceflight company)

Astra is an American launch vehicle company based in Alameda, California. Astra was incorporated in October 2016 by Chris Kemp and Adam London.[4][5] Formerly known in media as "Stealth Space Company", the company formally came out as Astra Space, Inc. in a Bloomberg L.P. article by Ashlee Vance.[6] Investors include BlackRock, Advance, ACME, Airbus Ventures, Innovation Endeavors, Salesforce co-founder Marc Benioff, former Disney CEO Michael Eisner, and more.[7]

This article is about the U.S. aerospace company formerly named "Ventions". For other uses, see Astra.

Astra Space, Inc.
TypePublic
Nasdaq: ASTR
IndustryAerospace
Founded
  • October 2016 (2016-10) (ASTRA)
  • 2005 (2005) (Ventions)
Founder
Headquarters
Alameda, California, U.S.
Key people
Chris Kemp (CEO)
Adam London (CTO)[3]
Number of employees
100 (2023)
Websitehttps://astra.com
Part of a series on
Private spaceflight
Active companies
Active vehicles
Contracts and programs

History

Astra was founded in October 2016 by Chris Kemp and Adam London.[8]

Before being reincorporated as Astra Space Inc. in 2016, Ventions, LLC was a small San Francisco based aerospace research and design firm with a 10+ year history developing aerospace technology in partnership with NASA[9] and DARPA. Ventions was founded in 2005 and located at 1142 Howard Street, San Francisco, CA 94103.

Following the 2016 reincorporation, Ventions, LLC employees expanded to a new building at Naval Air Station Alameda, known as "Orion", due to its location at 1690 Orion Street, Alameda, CA 94501.[10][11] This former naval jet engine testing facility provided the ability to perform in-house single engine testing, as opposed to the former Ventions, LLC test site at Castle Air Force Base. Due to Naval Air Station Alameda's vast retired runways, the company was able to perform full vehicle testing very close to their headquarters, eliminating the need for expensive and complex logistics for rocket testing.[12] However, this was diminished by choosing Pacific Spaceport Complex – Alaska (PSCA) as the only launch location.

During early to mid 2019, most non-test related employees moved from the Orion building into a new building at 1900 Skyhawk Street, Alameda, CA 94501,[13] known as "Skyhawk". This allowed a large expansion of a previously cramped machine shop, additional in house machining capabilities, and a rocket production line in anticipation of Rocket 3. Additionally, this building has a number of known chemical contaminants[14] due to its history as a Naval jet engine overhaul facility (Building 360)[13] and is now designated as part of Naval Air Station Alameda Superfund site.[15][16]

Two suborbital test flights were conducted in 2018 from Pacific Spaceport Complex – Alaska (PSCA): one on 20 July 2018 (Rocket 1.0), and one on 29 November 2018 (Rocket 2.0). Both were stated to be launch failures by the Federal Aviation Administration.[17][18] However, Astra stated that both were successful and the second one was "shorter than planned".[19][5] Astra spent 2019 designing and building Rocket 3.0 integrating propulsion systems, avionics, and other pressurization/plumbing components into a high-performance electric pump-fed orbital launch vehicle.

From 2018 to 2020, Astra was a contender in the DARPA Launch Challenge; first, as one of three teams, although at this point Astra kept its involvement secret and was only referred to as "stealth startup" by the Challenge organizers. Then as the other two teams dropped out, Astra remained as the only team in the competition. The competition involved launching two small satellite payloads into orbit from two different launch sites in the U.S. with approximately two weeks between launches. Astra attempted to perform a launch for the Challenge in late February – early March 2020 from PSCA, but had to scrub the launch attempts (due to faulty sensor data) and in the end, did not launch a rocket for the Challenge. With the competition's only remaining team (Astra) being unable to launch a rocket within the set time frame, DARPA announced the DARPA Launch Challenge closed on 2 March 2020 with no winner. The prize of US$12 million went unclaimed.[19]

On 23 March 2020, Astra's Rocket 3.0 ("1 of 3"), the vehicle that was initially intended to launch as Astra's first rocket for the DARPA Launch Challenge, but which failed to launch within the challenge's launch window[20][21] and was subsequently reused for the next launch without DARPA involvement, suffered a fire on the launch pad (PSCA, Pad 3B[22]) prior to launch, destroying the rocket.[23] In September 2020, Astra attempted another orbital rocket launch, this time with their Rocket 3.1.[24] The rocket cleared the launchpad and began to ascend before a failure caused all the engines to shut down. The vehicle began to quickly fall back down to Earth, exploding on impact.[25] Next month, Astra was selected by the U.S. Air Force's AFWERX program to pursue the development of their Rocket 5.0, although it was not clear if the selection was tied to a specific monetary award.[26] In the last month of 2020, Astra's Rocket 3.2 nearly (but did not) reached orbit after a launch from Kodiak Island, Alaska.[27]

On 2 February 2021, Astra announced they planned to go public[28] through a reverse merger with special-purpose acquisition company Holicity in a deal that valued the rocket company at a $2.1 billion enterprise value.[29] Later in February, Astra announced the appointment of former Apple engineering leader Benjamin Lyon as its new chief engineer.[30] In July, Astra completed its first day as a public company on the Nasdaq, the first publicly traded space launch and rocket company on the exchange.[31][32]

On 28 August 2021, the Rocket 3.3 vehicle (serial number LV0006) failed to reach orbit. Following an "unexpected sideways ascent off the pad" due to a single engine failure on the first stage less than one second after liftoff, the rocket's engines were commanded to shut off by range safety at 2 minutes and 28 seconds into the flight. The flight was subsequently terminated, but reached an altitude of 50 km (31 mi) before crashing into the ocean downrange.[33][34] A fueling system propellant leak was determined as the root cause of the engine outage.[35] About three months later, on 20 November 2021, Astra's Rocket 3.3 vehicle (serial number LV0007) successfully reached orbit after launching from Pacific Spaceport Complex – Alaska (PSCA) carrying the demonstration payload STP-27AD2 for the United States Space Force.[36] Achieving an orbital launch in just five years and one month after Astra was founded, "Astra became the fastest company to reach orbit with a privately developed liquid-fueled rocket"[37] over a year less than SpaceX at six years and four months.[37]

On 10 February 2022, on their first launch from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Astra Rocket LV0008 experienced an in-flight anomaly on the ELaNA-41 mission for NASA, during stage separation. After two previous scrubbed launch attempts, ignition and launch of LV0008 occurred nominally. Shortly after main engine cutoff (MECO), an electrical issue caused a failed separation of the payload fairing, with 2 of the 5 separation mechanisms firing incorrectly. Another error spotted in an investigation carried out by Astra was that the thrust vector control (TVC) system on the upper stage engine failed, which caused an uncontrolled spin.[38][39] About one month later, Astra's return to flight successfully reached orbit with the Astra-1 mission on 15 March 2022. The vehicle was the Rocket 3.3, LV0009. The Astra-1 mission is the first of 3 missions for Spaceflight, Inc. and launched the NearSpace S4 Crossover Satellite. Everything worked as planned, with no issues. The mission was originally scrubbed on 14 March 2022 due to bad weather. The LV0009 mission also launched Portland Aerospace Society's small cubesat called OreSat0, that was built at the Portland State University in Oregon. The satellite is a technology pathfinder that will stay attached to the upper-stage of the Astra 3.3 launch vehicle, and will prove the technology's functionality and operation state in orbit.[40] However, after the successful return to flight, Astra rocket LV0010 failed to launch the TROPICS-1 mission. LV0010 suffered an early second-stage engine cutoff and failed to deliver the payload to orbit.[41][42]

On 4 August 2022, together with the release of the Q2 2022 financial results, Astra announced that following two out of last four Rocket 3.3 launches being unsuccessful they intended to fully transition to the upgraded Rocket 4 whose maiden flight has been subsequently rescheduled to 2023. Because of that, all the remaining Rocket 3.3 launches had been cancelled and the company is currently in talks with its customers to remanifest their payloads on Rocket 4.[43]

Rocket 1

Rocket 1 was a single test vehicle designed between October 2016, when Astra was formed, and March 2018 when the first launch window opened. This vehicle utilized five first stage "Delphin" engines. While second stage engine "Aether" was still being developed, an upper stage (second stage) mass simulator was used in its place. The exterior dimensions of this vehicle were similar to Rocket 3 due to the size limitation of fitting within a standard shipping container. A number of unsuccessful launch attempts were made between the initial window in March 2018 and July 2018 before the vehicle lifted off in July 2018. At the time, the company had been commonly referred to as "Stealth Space Company" in various media outlets.

Launch

At approximately 22:00 UTC (15:00 PDT) on 20 July 2018, Rocket 1 left the Pacific Spaceport Complex – Alaska (PSCA) Launch Pad 2 for the company's first sub-orbital launch attempt. The foggy conditions made it difficult to observe the launch according to local reporters. After approximately 27 seconds of propelled flight, the vehicle suffered an anomaly and crashed into ground, within the perimeter fence of the spaceport. Following uncertainty regarding the launch, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) stated: "The Astra Space, Inc. launch from the Pacific Spaceport Complex Alaska at Kodiak Island on 20 July 2018 experienced a mishap. It was an FAA-licensed launch, and the agency is reviewing the event". No injuries were reported. Craig Campbell, President of Alaska Aerospace, told SpaceNews on 27 July 2018:

"Our customer has requested we not discuss their operations with the press. I can confirm that a launch from the Pacific Spaceport Complex – Alaska occurred on Friday, July 20th and that the customer is very pleased with the outcome of the launch. While a post-launch team is reviewing the results of the launch, I can state that there was no material damage to our facilities as a result of this launch, we look forward to working with this customer to support their next launch from Alaska".

Rocket 2

Rocket 2 was launched at 30 November 2018 at 03:00 UTC (20:00 PST on 29 November 2018) from Pacific Spaceport Complex – Alaska, Launch Pad 2, the same used for Rocket 1. After approximately 30 seconds of powered flight, the vehicle aborted, resulting in the vehicle falling to the ground and crashing. Sources observing the launch reported the vehicle landed slightly outside the perimeter fence, south of the launch pad, but on spaceport property.

This launch had no customer and acted as a suborbital test flight using a mass simulator for the second stage, as Aether was still in development. There was no payload on board. The mission planned to fly on an azimuth of 195° from the spaceport, but the license did not disclose the planned altitude or downrange distance for the mission. No injuries were reported.

Rocket 3

Rocket 3 was a 11.6 m (38 ft) launch vehicle that had a payload capacity of 25–150 kg (55–331 lb) to a 500 km (310 mi) Sun-synchronous orbit. The rocket consisted of two stages. The first stage had five electric-pump-fed "Delphin" engines with 6,500 lbf (29,000 N) of thrust each. The second stage had one pressure-fed "Aether" engine with 740 lbf (3,300 N) (vacuum) of thrust.

Rocket 3
Rocket 3.0 being prepared to launch.
FunctionOrbital launch vehicle
ManufacturerAstra
Country of originUnited States
Cost per launchUS$2.5 million [44][45]
Size
Height11.6 m (38 ft)
Capacity
Payload to SSO
Altitude500 km (310 mi)
Mass25–150 kg (55–331 lb)
Associated rockets
Comparable
Launch history
StatusRetired
Launch sitesPSCA, CCSFS SLC-46
Total launches7 (+1 rocket destroyed before launch)
Success(es)2
Failure(s)5 (+1 rocket destroyed before launch)
First stage
Powered by5 Delphin
Maximum thrustc. 32,500 lbf (145 kN) [46]
PropellantKerosene/LOX
Second stage
Engines1 Aether
Thrust740 lbf (3,300 N) vacuum [46]
PropellantKerosene/LOX

Rocket 3.0

The first Rocket 3, "1 of 3" or "Rocket 3.0", completed a static fire test at Castle Airport, California. It was planned to launch from Pacific Spaceport Complex – Alaska (PSCA) with attempted launches in late February and early March 2020, with the last launch attempt on 2 March 2020, as part of the DARPA Launch Challenge. Three CubeSats for the U.S. Department of Defense and the University of South Florida, along with a space-based beacon designed to aid in space traffic management, were slated to ride into orbit on "1 of 3". On 2 March 2020, DARPA and Astra officials said the Prometheus CubeSat, the University of South Florida's two Articulated Reconnaissance and Communications Expedition (ARCE) nanosatellites, and the space-based radio beacon payload were to be removed from the rocket after the end of the Launch Challenge. Astra had failed to launch within the DARPA Launch Challenge's launch window; launch preparations continued regardless for the test flight.

On 23 March 2020, "1 of 3" was destroyed by fire during launch preparations. The incident at the Pacific Spaceport Complex on Kodiak Island occurred while Astra was detanking fuel during a pre-launch countdown dress rehearsal. A valve on Rocket 3.0 remained open. This incident was first reported by KMXT, a local public radio station. Astra CEO Chris Kemp confirmed no payloads were on-board Astra's rocket at the time of the incident.

Rocket 3.1

A second launch attempt was planned for no earlier than 31 August 2020 at 02:00 UTC using the second Rocket 3 vehicle, Rocket 3.1 (formerly "2 of 3"), but was delayed due to unfavorable weather conditions. The next launch window began on 11 September 2020. The launch occurred on 12 September 2020 at 03:19 UTC. The launch failed during first stage flight, when Rocket 3.1 experienced an anomaly and fell back to Earth shortly after, and exploded on impact in a part of the spaceport that was cleared of personnel before launch. However, many public viewers captured footage of the launch and failure with the rocket slamming into the ground creating an explosion and cloud. Astra officials said on 12 September 2020, a software fix will likely resolve a guidance system problem that caused the first orbital-class rocket to begin drifting off course soon after liftoff, prompting a range safety officer to terminate the flight. The result was not unexpected after Astra officials set modest goals for the test flight. The rocket carried no payload. The company said it planned a series of three test launches before it expects to reach orbit with its commercial rocket. Astra confirmed that Rocket 3.2, the third Rocket 3, was almost complete and would take flight after data review and making necessary changes.

Rocket 3.2

On 15 December 2020 at roughly 20:55 UTC, Astra launched its third Rocket 3 vehicle, called Rocket 3.2 (formerly "3 of 3"). The rocket successfully passed the Kármán Line and reached its target orbital altitude of 390 kilometers, a first for Astra. However, due to issues with the upper stage's fuel mixture, the rocket failed to achieve orbit. The company declared the flight a success, arguing that their objective for the test flight was to achieve a successful cut-off of the first stage's main engine, which was achieved. The rocket did not carry any satellites or other payloads, as the launch was a demonstration mission.

Rocket 3.3

On 28 August 2021 at 22:35 UTC, Astra launched its fourth Rocket 3 vehicle, Rocket 3.3 (serial number LV0006). The flight carried an instrumentation payload for the United States Space Force under the Space Test Program, and a separation of payload from the launch vehicle was not planned. Shortly after liftoff, a single engine failure caused the vehicle to begin drifting horizontally for several tens of meters off the launch pad before beginning to ascend vertically. Not long afterwards the vehicle deviated from its FAA licensed trajectory and range safety terminated the flight at approximately T+02:28. The rocket reached a peak altitude of 50 km (31 mi) before crashing into the ocean downrange of the launch site. No injuries or damage to property were reported from this incident. Astra determined a small propellant leakage from the launcher fueling system caused impacts leading to a single engine failing. This triggered the hover during liftoff and left the rocket without enough thrust to reach orbit.

On 20 November 2021, Astra's Rocket 3.3 vehicle (serial number LV0007) successfully reached orbit after launching from Pacific Spaceport Complex – Alaska (PSCA) carrying the demonstration payload STP-27AD2 (COSPAR 2021-108A, SATCAT 49494) for the United States Space Force.

On 10 February 2022, Astra Rocket LV 0008 experienced an anomaly post-launch, during stage separation. After two previous scrubbed launch attempts, ignition and launch of LV0008 occurred nominally. However, after Main Engine Cut-off the payload fairing that covers the second stage and satellites failed to separate correctly and the ignition of the second-stage occurred with the fairing still attached. The second stage punched through the fairing and spun out of control. Shortly after this anomaly the flight was terminated and the payload lost. The post-launch investigation later found that the failure was caused by an error in the wiring diagram which prevented the fairings from separating completely before second stage ignition, coupled with a software problem that resulted in the upper stage engine being unable to use its thrust vector system to correct the tumbling after stage ignition.

On 15 March 2022, Astra Rocket 3.3 vehicle (serial number LV0009) successfully reached orbit with the Astra-1 mission.

On 12 June 2022, Astra Rocket 3.3 vehicle (serial number LV0010) failed to reach orbit. The rocket's payload, two TROPICS satellites for NASA's TROPICS weather research (rainfall and hurricanes) constellation, was lost. This was the final flight of Rocket 3.

On 4 August 2022, Astra announced that since only two of Rocket 3.3's flights were successful, they will retire that vehicle and make a full transition to Rocket 4.0. They are also working with customers to get their payloads on the new launch vehicle.

Rocket 4

Rocket 4 is currently under development. It is planned to be dramatic upgrade from the outgoing Rocket 3 series, in both capability and reliability. It will be 18.9 m in height and 1.8 m in diameter, with an initial payload capacity of 550 kg to a 300 km low Earth orbit, or 350 kg to a 500 km sun-synchronous orbit. The first stage will rely on two Astra Chiron engines (license-built Firefly Reaver engines) with a combined thrust of up to 80,000 lbf (360 kN), while the second stage will be powered by a single Ursa Major Hadley ITV engine with a thrust of 6,500 lbf (29 kN). Astra aims to eventually achieve a weekly launch cadence with this vehicle. On 4 August 2022, Astra announced its intention to make a full transition to Rocket 4, with its maiden flight being rescheduled to no earlier than 2023.

Rocket 4
FunctionOrbital launch vehicle
ManufacturerAstra
Country of originUnited States
Size
Height18.9 m (62 ft)
Capacity
Payload to LEO600 kg
Associated rockets
Comparable
Launch history
StatusIn Development
Total launches0
First flight2023
First stage
Powered by2 Chiron (license-built Firefly Reaver engines)
Maximum thrustc. 80,000 lbf (360 kN)
PropellantKerosene/LOX
Second stage
Engines1 Hadley
Thrust6,500 lbf (29,000 N) vacuum
PropellantKerosene/LOX

Future Rocket variants

Rocket 5

In September 2020, Astra submitted a proposal to the Air Force's AFWERX program titled, "Responsive Launch Enabled by Astra's Rocket 5.0". Rocket 5 will be a variant of the Rocket 3 dedicated to suborbital point-to-point delivery, featuring a modified second stage between the Rocket 3's first and upper stages.

Following the failure of the TROPICS-1 launch, early cancellation of the Rocket 3 line and early transition to Rocket 4, the status and future of Rocket 5 (at least as it relates to a suborbital point-to-point transportation vehicle) is unclear.

Satellite bus

Astra is developing a satellite bus for customer payloads. The first prototypes were planned for launch in 2022 on Rocket 3 launch vehicles, with customer services to commence in 2023.[47]

See also

References
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