Astra Made it to Space, What’s Next?

Astra's 3.2 Rocket launching from Kodiak Alaska on December 15th 2020

     Astra is a newcomer in the rocket industry, reaching four years old in October, but they have already done what so many other companies haven’t accomplished; reached space. Astra successfully launched their rocket, Rocket 3.2, on December 15 and reached their target altitude of 380 kilometers (236.12 miles) and missed orbital velocity by 0.48 km/s (1728 km/hr or 1080 mph). Reaching space, they have shown the world that they are ready to complete their first satellite launches, but what else does this mean for the company?

According to the company's blog, they will start launching their customers spacecraft in a few months, after they adjust their fuel and oxidizer mixture. They reportedly have over two dozen launches planned with over 100 spacecraft being put into orbit. The spacecraft are satellites, but will not be the large satellites that we have become accustomed to, but smaller satellites called CubeSats. This is because Astra placed their research and development into small and nimble rockets. 

Astra was the final remaining competitor in the DARPA launch challenge, which ended in March 2020. These small and nimble rockets that Astra developed were to be used to successfully launch two different payloads from two different launch locations with different trajectories within days of each other and win the competition. While the company was unable to complete this challenge in time, their rocket design and their latest achievement of reaching space will allow them to get closer to their goal of daily rocket launches. 

We should start to see Astra ramping up their rocket production and in a few months, launches. With each successful launch and deployment of their payloads, Astra should hopefully expect more orders from companies or organizations wishing to put their CubeSat(s) into orbit. With their smaller rockets, they will be more financially viable for companies and will provide a shorter waiting window for deployment. Once Astra becomes more established, I think they will become a thorn in the side of their competitors and will become the go to CubeSat launch provider.