Astra

Ursa Major to provide engines for the upper stage of Astra’s new rocket

Astra’s new Rocket 4 launch vehicle will use Ursa Major’s Hadley liquid engine to power its upper stage, the two companies announced Monday. Astra has been tight-lipped about the new upper-stage e

Astra star hire Benjamin Lyon resigns, management team restructured

Space company Astra’s management team is undergoing another shake-up. The company said Friday that chief engineer Benjamin Lyon has resigned after just short of two years in the role. Rather than se

NASA selects Rocket Lab to launch TROPICS satellites

NASA has found a new launch provider for its extreme weather observation satellites. The agency announced Wednesday that it has selected Rocket Lab to launch its Time-Resolved Observations of Precipit

Astra lays off 16% after nearly tripling workforce in the last year

Astra, a rocket startup that went public last year, told investors Tuesday it laid off 16% of its workforce as part of a wider strategy to increase shrinking financial runway and decrease expenses. Th

Astra brings on new CFO as it looks to scale launch and propulsion businesses

Astra is bringing on Silicon Valley veteran Axel Martinez as its new chief financial officer, a C-suite change that in many ways demarcates a new chapter for the space company. Martinez’s career inc

Astra will no longer launch NASA’s TROPICS satellites

Rocket launch company Astra will no longer send the remaining NASA TROPICS payloads to space, but instead will launch other “comparable” scientific missions for the agency, the company announced W

Astra changes strategy and ditches current rocket in the wake of launch debacles

Astra CEO Chris Kemp told investors Thursday that the company will be no longer launch payloads with its current lightweight vehicle, Rocket 3, and will instead re-manifest all launches on a considera

Astra’s latest launch for NASA also ends in failure

Rocket launch company Astra isn’t starting out with the best track record, after its latest mission for NASA ended in failure — just a few months after its last rocket carrying payloads for the ag

Max Q: Near and far

Astra’s playing the long game

In a time when every rocket launch is livestreamed on YouTube, millions of people get a front row seat to a space company’s successes and failures. Astra, a rocket startup-turned-public company, has

Max Q: All eyes on Astra

Hi folks, welcome back to Max Q. This week we have news on rockets both small (Astra’s Rocket 3.3) and very, very large (NASA’s Space Launch System). Plus further fallout from Russia&#8217

Astra reaches orbit in first mission for new customer Spaceflight Inc.

Space startup-turned-public-company Astra reached orbit for a second time, in its debut mission for new customer Spaceflight Inc. It’s a big win for the launch company. Astra reached orbit for the f

Max Q: Russian invasion reverberates through space industry

This week, Max Q again puts the focus on the ongoing invasion of Ukraine by Russia, and the resulting halo effects that’s having on the international space industry. Neither private companies, l

Astra’s first rocket launch from Florida goes awry

Astra launched its first rocket from Florida’s “Space Coast” today, with a liftoff from Space Launch Complex 46 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. It was the startup’s seco

ACME Capital, run by Scott Stanford and Hany Nada, has $300 million more to invest in early startups

ACME Capital, an early-stage venture firm that’s run by industry insiders Scott Stanford and Hany Nada, has just closed two funds totalling $300 million in capital commitments, including a $240

How to build a better rocket company

We spoke to three rocket makers who have either already launched, achieved orbit or are well on their way: Firefly Aerospace's Lauren Lyons, Astra's Benjamin Lyon and Launcher's Max Haot.

Astra will launch a rocket from Cape Canaveral in Florida for the first time in January

Astra is set to expand its launch footprint, after exclusively flying its first few rockets from Kodiak, Alaska. The startup will fly a mission from Cape Canaveral in Florida for client NASA in Januar

Astra moves full steam ahead after successful orbital launch, looks to test Rocket 4.0 next year

Rocket startup-turned-public company Astra Space is flying high Monday morning, with stock prices increasing as much as 42% since markets opened thanks to the company’s first successful orbital flig

Astra successfully reaches orbit for the first time with latest rocket launch

There’s another launch company newly able to count itself among the small (but growing) group that has reached orbit: Astra. The Alameda-based rocket startup notched that achievement late Friday

Astra completes investigation into August launch failure, aims for next attempt in October

Rocket launch startup Astra provided more details into its rather remarkable mission failure in August, during which the small launch vehicle hovered and drifted in the air before managing a brief ver
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