GLOC 2023 - Banner

Astra succeeds small Rocket 3.2 launch from Alaska

Rocket 3.2 on the Kodiak launch pad. Photo: Astra

Luxembourg, 16 December 2020. – The rocket start-up Astra succeeded to reach space with its second launch attempt from Alaska, the company tweeted yesterday.

Astra launched its Rocket 3.2 vehicle from the Kodiak launch pad in Alaska into a peak altitude of 390 kilometers but was “half a kilometer per second short” of the targeted orbital velocity, the firm said.

The California-based small rocket start-up considered the launch a success and showed itself “beyond ecstatic”. Rocket 3.2 was Astra’s second launch attempt this year; the first one, Rocket 3.1, failed in September, when the rocket crashed shortly after lift-off close to the launch site.

In the meantime, the other small rocket launcher Rocket Lab also had a success to celebrate; it successfully launched its 17th mission, deploying the first spacecraft in orbit for the Japanese synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite data and solutions provider Synspective.

Check Also

Space Café 33 minutes with Maya Glickman-Pariente, The Future of Satellite Operations: Embracing AI and Empowering the Next Generation

The  Space Café “33 minutes with Maya Glickman-Pariente“, CEO of SPACECIALIST, Head of Space Operations, SAS Founder of “My space academy,” in conversation with Torsten Kriening, publisher of SpaceWatch.Global was conducted on 14th March 2023, about the future of satellite operations and the role of AI, as well as her advice to the next generation of women in STEM.