Astra Just Launched & Its Newest Partnership
Astra has been very busy in the most recent months. After a failed launch not long ago, they have been working to figure out exactly what went wrong and what they can do to fix it. Now they are preparing for another launch after solving the problem. In addition, Astra has been working to form an important partnership to help the company thrive as time goes on.
Today Astra attempted another launch this time with LV0009 along with sharing details on a valuable partnership. Specifically, they announced a partnership with Spaceflight Inc. meant to accelerate access to space through a multi-launch contract. Not only this but they updated everyone on the most recent launch and how it went.
The process of successfully getting a payload to orbit is a feat few companies have accomplished. Despite Astra’s recent launch failure, the company has been making impressive progress in many aspects. This along with the help of different partners and more and the company is improving overall. Here I will go more in-depth into today’s launch and what the most recent partnership means for the future of Astra.
Successful Launch
Astra has been working hard to reach orbit not once but on the regular. While the last launch was not successful due to problems with the fairings and stage separation, they have already launched again since then. Today only hours ago LV0009 was on the launch pad ready to liftoff. Eventually, the launch vehicle took off from Astra’s launch pad in Kodiak Island, Alaska. Unlike some previous launches, the rocket instantly started gaining altitude and cleared the launch tower with ease. LV0009 then continued to gain both altitude and speed. It passed through Max-q without any problems and accelerated to the edge of the atmosphere. Finally, the rocket was ready for fairing and stage separation. As many of you know this is where the last launch of LV0008 went wrong. Specifically, in the live stream, you could see a large jolt during stage separation followed by a violent separation and the upper stage spinning out of control. Astra completed a post-launch investigation and found that the root of the cause had to do with fairing separation.
An error in an electrical harness engineering drawing caused the fairings to never separate and stop the stages from properly separating. However, it’s clear Astra not only learned from this mistake but fixed it as LV0009 completed fairing and stage separation without any problems around 3 minutes into the flight. From here the upper stage lit its engine and accelerated to the designated orbit. Earlier in the day, Astra posted an image on Twitter highlighting today’s mission timeline. This included a payload deployment time soon after the second engine cutoff around 8 minutes and 50 seconds into the launch. However, in the live stream, Astra was unable to confirm payload deployment before ending the stream. This launch marks a major step in the right direction for Astra. While the company is relatively new they have been working extremely fast to improve and continue testing its launch vehicle. After a first successful launch months ago they have been working to continue that streak. The last launch was unsuccessful however they learned from their mistake and applied it to the most recent launch. This helped LV0009 launch, clear the tower, and reach orbit successfully. We are likely to see a lot more from Astra regarding launches in the near future.
New Partnership
In a very complex and busy industry such as the space industry, partnerships can be a great way to improve a specific service within your company that you offer to customers. Astra decided to do just that by working with another company sharing a similar goal. Specifically, yesterday on March 14th Astra tweeted saying, “We’re honored to announce our partnership with @Spaceflightinc to accelerate access to space through a multi-launch contract” This partnership is a multi-launch contract between the two companies. The first of these launches was planned for yesterday however the launch was moved to today due to weather. This agreement provides Spaceflight with launch opportunities using Astra’s launch services through 2025. Through this commitment, Spaceflight expands its launch vehicle partner portfolio, offering its customers additional launch opportunities through Astra missions. Astra gains a knowledgeable and reliable partner that offers a consistent stream of satellite customers seeking launches. Together, Astra and Spaceflight are working to rapidly accelerate the cadence of how companies get to space. “We continuously look for opportunities to provide our customers access to flexible and reliable options to get to orbit,” said Curt Blake, CEO and president of Spaceflight Inc. “By expanding our launch partner portfolio to include Astra, we can increase the launch opportunities available to our customers. Astra’s willingness to explore creative launch solutions and shared dedication to customer success makes them a great partner.”
In addition, they pointed out, “We are thrilled to partner with Spaceflight, who shares our customer-focused approach,” said Martin Attiq, Chief Business Officer at Astra. “We look forward to working together to make getting to space more efficient, frequent, and affordable than ever.” Spaceflight has a unique service to offer within the space industry. They acquire capacity and provide rideshare services on all commercially competitive launch vehicles within the limits of U.S. export regulations. This includes the U.S.-based SpaceX Falcon 9, Russian Soyuz, Arianespace Vega, Virgin Orbit Launcherone, Rocket Lab Electron, NSIL’s PSLV and SSLV, and more. They work to serve their customers throughout the launch process from identifying the best launch opportunity, preparing your spacecraft, and ensuring it is launched into orbit. Their job is to handle the details so the customer can focus on the mission. This partnership between Spaceflight and Astra is a good example of two companies working to expand their service and offer more opportunities to different customers looking to send a payload into space. They describe Spaceflight Inc “As the premier global launch services provider, Spaceflight is revolutionizing the business of space transportation through its comprehensive suite of launch services and Sherpa orbital transfer vehicles. The company provides unprecedented launch flexibility to ensure customers’ smallsats get to orbit exactly when and where they want through a combination of long-standing relationships with a diverse portfolio of launch partners, innovative satellite integration capabilities, including flight and ground support hardware, licensing and logistics management, and extensive mission management expertise. Based in Seattle, Spaceflight has successfully launched hundreds of satellites and is a part of the Mitsui & Co., Ltd. portfolio, operating as an independent, U.S.-based company.” Now working with Astra at least until 2025.
Conclusion
Getting a rocket to orbit is an extremely challenging process. Not to mention many other general aspects within the space industry are complex and have no room for error. Astra’s last launch of LV0008 was not successful however Astra learned from their mistake and applied it to today’s launch. This morning LV0009 took off from Alaska and successfully reached orbit after stage separation. Not only this but Astra also announced a valuable partnership with Spaceflight Inc. only days ago. We will have to wait and see how Astra improves and develops over time and what they are capable of in the future.