Athens, 6 August 2021. – A rocket boost for the stock: The launch startup Astra Space announced its first commercial orbital launch for the United States Space Force for the end of August and the stock of the Nasdaq-listed company rose by nearly 25% yesterday.
Space Force contracted the launch through the Defense Innovation Unit’s Other Transaction Agreement with Astra and will be launching a test payload for its Space Test Program, the company said.
The mission will be conducted from Astra’s Kodiak Spaceport, located at the Pacific Spaceport Complex in Kodiak, Alaska.
Following this launch, Astra is under contract to perform a second launch later this year.
Astra claims to be “the fastest company to reach space” with its first flight to space within only four years after its inception, it says.