The company’s LV0010 rocket stands at the launchpad in Cape Canaveral, Florida, ahead of the NASA TROPICS-1 mission.
astra
rocket-builder shares astra Business fell sharply on Monday after a weekend launch carrying NASA satellites failed to reach orbit.
Astra’s rocket LV0010 carrying two satellites on NASA’s Tropics-1 mission took off from Launch Complex 46 in Cape Canaveral, Florida on Sunday. The first part of the mission went as planned, but the rocket’s upper engine quickly shut down and the company was unable to deploy the satellites.
“We are reviewing the flight data to determine the root cause of this discrepancy and will provide additional information when available,” Astra wrote in a securities filing.
Astra’s stock fell as much as 25% from its previous close of $2.02 per share. The Tropics-1 mission represents the company’s second mission failure in three launches this year.
In a tweet, Astra CEO Chris Kemp noted that NASA needs four of the planned six Tropics satellites to be successful, so “the next two launches need to be in the works.” Tropix-1 was the first of three missions NASA awarded Astra.
“Our team understands what’s at stake,” Kemp said.
The company’s vehicle is 43 feet tall and is considered a small rocket in the launch market. Astra aims to launch several of its smaller rockets — aiming to hit a rate of one rocket per day by 2025 — and further reduce its $2.5 million price tag.
Astra went public last year Raising funds, after completing SPAC merger to produce their own little rocketsExpansion Its Facilities in Alameda, Californiaand develop your spaceship and spaceport business lines.