Astra is an extremely small group– small enough that it says it does not have a video production team to relay its launches– and says its launch system was established by six people in less than a week. Astra says its Rocket 3.2 is all set and it prepares another launch in the next few months.
The very first orbital mission for rocket launch start-up Astra ended without its Rocket 3.1 reaching orbit. The rocket successfully lifted off from the Pacific Spaceport Complex in Alaska at about 11:19 PM ET Friday, however the business said its assistance system “introduced some minor oscillation into the flight,” which triggered the rocket to drift from its organized trajectory. The flight security system shut down the engines, and the rocket fell back to the ground.
A viewer caught the launch on video, showing the rockets climb. In the footage, the rockets engine turns off mid-flight and a few minutes later, you can see flames as the rocket hits the ground.
Successful take off and fly out, however the flight ended during the very first stage burn. It does look like we got an excellent quantity of nominal flight time. More updates to come!– Astra (@Astra) September 12, 2020
” We didnt fulfill all of our goals, but we did get valuable experience, plus much more important flight data,” the company stated in a post Saturday. “This launch sets us well on our way to reaching orbit within 2 extra flights, so were delighted with the result.”
The very first orbital objective for rocket launch start-up Astra ended without its Rocket 3.1 reaching orbit. The rocket effectively took off from the Pacific Spaceport Complex in Alaska at about 11:19 PM ET Friday, but the business said its assistance system “introduced some minor oscillation into the flight,” which caused the rocket to wander from its organized trajectory. The flight security system shut down the engines, and the rocket fell back to the ground. It wasnt carrying any payloads.
The businesss specified goal with this flight was to have a nominal very first phase burn, which obviously didnt quite take place since thats when the engine shutdown occurred. Astra wasnt planning to reach orbit with this launch. And it says its preliminary data showed the rocket carried out very well.
