15.01.2022
Astra Rocket 3 Set to Launch from Cape Canaveral Tuesday, Jan. 18
LAUNCH WINDOW WILL BE OPEN FROM 1:00-4:00 P.M. ET
BREVARD COUNTY • CAPE CANAVERAL, FLORIDA – Astra Space has announced that it plans to deploy its first satellite in orbit for NASA when it launches a Astra Rocket 3 (VCLS Demo 2) on Tuesday, January 18, from Cape Canaveral.
The launch from Cape Canaveral will be conducted out of Space Launch Complex 46 (SLC-46) and will be Astra’s first launch out of Cape Canaveral.
Launch window will be open from 1:00-4:00 p.m. EST.
“This historic launch site has been prepared for a new commercial launch partner in less than year, which is a tremendous milestone for our combined team, and illustrates how SLD 45 sets the pace for access to space.” said Brigadier General Stephen Purdy, Commander of Space Launch Delta 45 and Director of the Eastern Range. “SLD 45, Space Florida, and Astra have moved at a rapid speed to demonstrate critical and responsive launch capabilities. We are excited to welcome Astra to Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.”
Astra and Space Launch Delta 45, a part of the United States Space Force, enabled Astra to launch out of Cape Canaveral in record time – shortening the multi-year approval time to months.
“Launching out of the Cape allows us to serve customers with mid-inclination delivery needs, broadening our market,” said Martin Attiq, Chief Business Officer at Astra.
“This is an additional step in our global spaceport strategy and positions us to serve the broad low earth orbit (LEO) market.”
About Astra
Astra’s mission is to improve life on Earth from space by creating a healthier and more connected planet. Today, Astra offers the lowest cost-per-launch dedicated orbital launch service of any operational launch provider in the world. Astra delivered its first commercial payload into Earth orbit in 2021, making it the fastest company in history to reach this milestone, just five years after it was founded in 2016. Astra (NASDAQ: ASTR) was the first space launch company to be publicly traded on Nasdaq. Visit astra.com to learn more about Astra.
Quelle: SPACE COAST DAILY
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Update: 17.01.2022
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Quelle: News6
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Update: 19.01.2022
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Update: 24.01.2022
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Quelle: ASTRA
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Update: 1.02.2022
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Quelle: Astra
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Astra finalizes plans for first Florida launch
WASHINGTON — Astra Space will launch four NASA-sponsored cubesats on its Rocket 3.3 vehicle as soon as Feb. 5 on a mission that will be the first to use a streamlined set of commercial launch regulations.
Astra announced Feb. 1 that it expected to launch its vehicle from Space Launch Complex 46 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on Feb. 5, pending receipt of a launch license from the Federal Aviation Administration’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation, which the company expects by Feb. 4. A three-hour launch window opens at 1 p.m. Eastern, with a backup launch opportunity Feb. 6.
Astra announced Dec. 6 that its next launch would take place from Cape Canaveral after conducting previous launches from Pacific Spaceport Complex – Alaska on Kodiak Island. That included four orbital launch attempts, the most recent of which, Nov. 20, was the first to reach orbit.
This launch will be Astra’s first mission with an operational payload, a set of cubesats on a mission called Educational Launch of Nanosatellites (ELaNa) 41 by NASA. The agency awarded Astra a $3.9 million contract in December 2020 for the launch through its Venture Class Launch Services (VCLS) Demo 2 competition.
“As the first VCLS mission to lift off from Florida’s Space Coast, this launch is ushering in new opportunities for cubesat developers and small class launch vehicle providers,” said Hamilton Fernandez, mission manager supporting NASA’s Launch Services Program, in an agency statement. Launches under previous VCLS contracts took place from New Zealand on Rocket Lab’s Electron and off the California coast by Virgin Orbit’s air-launch LauncherOne system.
Three of the cubesats on ELaNa 41 are from universities. BAMA-1, from the University of Alabama, will test a drag sail designed to rapidly deorbit the satellite. INCA, from New Mexico State University, will carry out measurements to improve space weather models. QubeSat, from the University of California Berkeley, will test how quantum gyroscopes operate in the space environment. A fourth satellite RS-51, is from NASA’s Johnson Space Center and will test a fast and cost-effective way to build cubesats and demonstrate some in-space inspection technologies.
Astra says the launch will be the first licensed under what the FAA calls Part 450, a new set of streamlined commercial launch regulations finalized in October 2020 and which took effect in March 2021. Existing licenses based on earlier regulations were grandfathered in but will gradually transition to the new regulations over several years.
One key element of Part 450 is enabling a single license to cover launches of the same vehicle from multiple sites. Astra said that it took three months to obtain the license and that it expects the license to, “with planned modifications, make it easier for Astra to launch at a higher frequency out of more launch sites in the United States.”
Quelle: SN
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Update: 5.02.2022
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Quelle: Astra, Twitter
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Startabbruch:
Verzicht auf den heutigen Start der ELaNa 41-Mission von NASA aufgrund eines Range-Assets, das außer Betrieb gegangen ist. Das Team bereitet sich auf die nächste Gelegenheit am Sonntag, den 6. Februar vor.
Quelle: ASTRA
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Update: 6.02.2022
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Astra scrubs first Florida launch due to hardware issue at Cape Canaveral
UPDATE: Astra now says the next launch attempt will be no earlier than Monday. The launch window remains from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Weather should be 80% "go" according to the Space Force.
Space startup Astra scrubbed its first Florida launch Saturday, citing a hardware failure at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station as the cause.
Teams at Launch Complex 46 were working with a three-hour window, but were unable to clear the issue in time before it closed at 4 p.m. EST. It would have marked Astra's first Florida mission as well as the first for NASA, its customer.
"We are standing down today due to a range equipment failure causing a critical range detection asset to be unavailable to support our launch," Astra co-founder and CEO Chris Kemp said via Twitter.
Teams are targeting a 24-hour turnaround – 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. EST Sunday, Feb. 6 – for the next attempt.
Weather, according to the Space Force, should be 40% "go" due to cumulus clouds and the potential for rocket-triggered lightning.
For the backup forecast, a surface low develops off the coast of the spaceport along the frontal boundary, leaving a higher chance for more (rain)," Space Launch Delta 45 forecasters said Saturday. "Models are inconsistent on the exact location of this low, and if it forms slightly farther offshore as some models are now indicating, the forecast could improve."
Saturday's attempt wasn't exactly favorable either – despite a 70% "go" forecast, ground windows and low clouds dominated the afternoon after a cold front moved over the state late Friday, bringing temperatures in the low-to-mid 60s.
Packed into the rocket's payload fairing are four small satellites developed by NASA and universities. NASA awarded Astra $3.9 million for this launch under its Venture Class Launch Service Demonstration program.
Based in California, Astra's stated mission is to build cheap, easy-to-fly rockets using off-the-shelf parts and methods. The company says it can transport its entire launch system – the rocket, ground support equipment, and communications hardware – in a few shipping containers.
So far, Astra has only launched from The Pacific Spaceport Complex in Kodiak, Alaska.
Quelle: Florida Today
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Update: 7.02.2022
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LIVE: Astra Launches NASA's ELaNa 41 Mission
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22:00 MEZ
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23:50 MEZ
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Quelle: Astra
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Update: 8.02.2022
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Quelle: YouTube
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Astra suffers launch pad abort, scrubbed second attempt to launch NASA mission from Florida
Astra scrubbed its second attempt on Monday to launch for the first time from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
The scrub followed a launch pad abort shortly after ignition of the company's 40-foot rocket, which the company calls Rocket 3.3 LV0008, or simply, "Rocket."
The abort occurred 50 minutes into the available three-hour launch window, leaving the time to try again, but company officials ultimately decided to wait for another day.
Astra, did not immediately announce a new targeted launch opportunity. Company founder and CEO, Chris Kemp, said on Twitter, "While we considered another attempt today, out of an abundance of caution, we are giving the team time to complete a more complete review of the data."
Astra completed its final countdown sequence and transference to internal power at T-60 seconds. But after a successful ignition sequence of all engines, computers automatically cut off the engines because of a "minor telemetry issue."
The scrubbed attempt follows Saturday's first opportunity for launch that was called off due to a failure of a range radar.
The mission, Educational Launch of Nanosatellites (ELaNa 41), is Astra's first for NASA. It features a payload of four miniature satellites known as CubeSats. Three of the small payloads were designed and developed by universities, while the remaining one was developed by NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.
Besides being Astra's first NASA mission, it will also be the first satellite deployment for the company and it's first launch from Cape Canaveral.
Until now, Astra has only conducted launch operations from The Pacific Spaceport Complex in Kodiak, Alaska.
The California-based company's first successful orbital test flight took place from Alaska in November 2021 aboard the previous iteration of its launch vehicle, Rocket 3.2 LV0007. Although the launch vehicle was able to reach orbit, no payloads were deployed.
Astra's stated mission is to build cheap, easy-to-fly rockets using off-the-shelf parts and methods.At only 40-feet tall, Astra's Rocket is far smaller than those that typically launch from the Cape. SpaceX's Falcon 9, for example, is 230-feet tall.
From end-to-end Astra's Rocket 3.3 and its necessary support equipment, is compact enough to fit and ship within standard shipping containers. "We can really set up a pad in a matter of days with a Red Team of about five folks," said Astra Director of Product Management, Carolina Grossman. "We really design our system to be as nimble as possible," she continued.
Quelle: Florida Today
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Update: 10.02.2022
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Update: Astra rocket launch targeting Thursday afternoon for first Florida launch
SECOND UPDATE: Astra is now targeting a window of 3 to 4 p.m. Thursday.
UPDATE: Astra is now targeting Thursday afternoon for its next launch attempt. The three-hour window opens at 1 p.m.
Astra scrubbed its second attempt on Monday to launch for the first time from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
The scrub followed a launch pad abort shortly after ignition of the company's 40-foot rocket, which the company calls Rocket 3.3 LV0008, or simply, "Rocket."
The abort occurred 50 minutes into the available three-hour launch window, leaving the time to try again, but company officials ultimately decided to wait for another day.
Astra, did not immediately announce a new targeted launch opportunity. Company founder and CEO, Chris Kemp, said on Twitter, "While we considered another attempt today, out of an abundance of caution, we are giving the team time to complete a more complete review of the data."
Astra completed its final countdown sequence and transference to internal power at T-60 seconds. But after a successful ignition sequence of all engines, computers automatically cut off the engines because of a "minor telemetry issue."
The scrubbed attempt follows Saturday's first opportunity for launch that was called off due to a failure of a range radar.
The mission, Educational Launch of Nanosatellites (ELaNa 41), is Astra's first for NASA. It features a payload of four miniature satellites known as CubeSats. Three of the small payloads were designed and developed by universities, while the remaining one was developed by NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.
Besides being Astra's first NASA mission, it will also be the first satellite deployment for the company and it's first launch from Cape Canaveral.
Until now, Astra has only conducted launch operations from The Pacific Spaceport Complex in Kodiak, Alaska.
The California-based company's first successful orbital test flight took place from Alaska in November 2021 aboard the previous iteration of its launch vehicle, Rocket 3.2 LV0007. Although the launch vehicle was able to reach orbit, no payloads were deployed.
Astra's stated mission is to build cheap, easy-to-fly rockets using off-the-shelf parts and methods.At only 40-feet tall, Astra's Rocket is far smaller than those that typically launch from the Cape. SpaceX's Falcon 9, for example, is 230-feet tall.
From end-to-end Astra's Rocket 3.3 and its necessary support equipment, is compact enough to fit and ship within standard shipping containers. "We can really set up a pad in a matter of days with a Red Team of about five folks," said Astra Director of Product Management, Carolina Grossman. "We really design our system to be as nimble as possible," she continued.
Quelle: Florida Today
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Start von Astra Rocket 3
Quelle: Astra, NASA
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Update: 11.02.2022
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Rocket startup's Florida launch debut ends in ocean crash
A rocket startup's big launch debut at Florida's Cape Canaveral has ended with all four mini satellites destroyed
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- A rocket startup’s big Florida launch debut ended with all four mini satellites destroyed Thursday.
California-based Astra sent its rocket soaring from Cape Canaveral after multiple delays, including a last-second engine shutdown Monday. The 43-foot (13-meter) rocket arced through a clear afternoon sky out over the Atlantic, carrying small research satellites sponsored by NASA.
But shortly after the first-stage booster dropped away, onboard cameras showed the second stage igniting and appearing to tumble. The video cameras went dark less than four minutes into the flight and the airwaves grew silent.
A launch commentator finally confirmed that the payloads failed to reach orbit. Three of the CubeSats were built by universities in Alabama, New Mexico and California, while the fourth was from NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. All ended up crashing into the ocean.
Astra CEO and founder Chris Kemp apologized for the loss in a tweet: "I’m with the team looking at data, and we will provide more info as soon as we can.”
NASA mission manager Hamilton Fernandez reiterated the space agency's support following the accident.
“Missions like these are critical for developing new launch vehicles in this growing commercial sector," Fernandez said in a statement.
Astra was among three companies picked by NASA in 2020 to launch small satellites. The company received $3.9 million.
Astra was attempting its first launch from Cape Canaveral, following its first successful orbital launch last November from Alaska's Kodiak Island. That test flight — contracted by the U.S. Space Force — featured a dummy payload on the second stage.
The company was founded in 2016 in Alameda, California.
Quelle: abcNews