Astra

Astra aces return-to-flight mission, deploys satellites for 1st time

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Astra bounced back from last month’s launch failure with a groundbreaking success, deploying satellites in Earth orbit for the first time ever. The California company’s two-stage Launch Vehicle 0009 (LV0009) lifted off from the Pacific Spaceport Complex on Alaska’s Kodiak Island today (March 15) at 12:22 p.m. EDT (1622 GMT; 8:22 a.m. local time on … Read more

Astra scrubs return-to-flight rocket launch due to lightning risk

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The private spaceflight startup Astra on Monday called off its first attempt to launch a rocket since a failed flight last month due to the risk of lightning at its Alaska liftoff site.  Astra scrubbed the attempted launch of its Astra-1 mission Monday (March 14) at Pad LP-3B at the Pacific Spaceport Complex on Alaska’s … Read more

You can watch Astra launch a commercial rocket from Alaska today. Here’s how.

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The private spaceflight startup Astra will launch a commercial mission for Spaceflight, Inc. today and you can watch it live online.  An Astra Rocket 3.3 booster is scheduled to lift off at (1622 GMT, 9:22 a.m. PDT) from Astra’s pad on Kodiak Island, Alaska. You can watch the launch countdown live here, courtesy of NASA … Read more

Astra traces February launch failure to issues with payload fairing, software

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Astra thinks it knows what went wrong during last month’s failed flight, which was the company’s first-ever mission with operational payloads onboard. Astra’s two-stage Launch Vehicle 0008 (LV0008) lifted off on Feb. 10 from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, carrying four tiny cubesats on a mission organized by NASA’s Educational Launch of Nanosatellites initiative, … Read more

Astra fails to deliver satellites to orbit in 1st launch from Lower 48

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Astra failed to deliver four satellites to orbit as planned today (Feb. 10) in the company’s first-ever orbital launch from the contiguous United States. The California startup’s 43-foot-tall (13 meters) Launch Vehicle 0008 (LV0008) launched the ELaNa 41 mission from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station today, rising off the pad at 3 p.m. EST … Read more

Astra rocket aborts 1st Florida launch attempt at last second (video)

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Astra came tantalizingly close today (Feb. 7) to its first-ever launch of operational satellites. The California company’s Launch Vehicle 0008 (LV0008) was scheduled to launch the ELaNa 41 mission for NASA today from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. And it nearly happened: LV0008’s first-stage engines fired up at 1:50 p.m. EST (1850 GMT) … Read more

Astra scrubs 1st Florida launch attempt due to faulty ‘range asset’

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Astra’s first launch of operational satellites will have to wait at least another day. The California company planned to launch the ELaNa 41 mission for NASA today (Feb. 5) from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station but was thwarted by an issue at the launch range. “Unfortunately, due to a range asset that has gone … Read more

Astra will launch a rocket from Florida for the 1st time today and you can watch it live

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Astra will launch its first-ever mission from the Lower 48 on Saturday (Feb. 5), and you can watch the action live. The California startup plans to launch the ELaNa 41 mission from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station Saturday during a three-hour window that opens at 1 p.m. EST (1800 GMT).  Watch it live here … Read more

Astra test-fires rocket ahead of 1st Florida launch (video)

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Astra took another step forward in preparing for its first-ever launch of operational satellites. The California company performed a “static fire” test with its Rocket 3.3 vehicle at Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Saturday (Jan. 22), briefly igniting the launcher’s first-stage engines while keeping it anchored to the pad. The test is part … Read more