Astra Ready for First in a Series of Orbital Launch Attempts
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Astra ready for first in a series of orbital launch attempts - SpaceNews:
Small launch vehicle developer Astra says it's ready for an orbital launch attempt as soon as Aug. 2, but warns that it's "pretty unlikely" that launch will actually achieve orbit.
Astra's Rocket 3.1 vehicle is in final preparations for a launch from Pacific Spaceport Complex - Alaska on Kodiak Island. The company is targeting a launch on Aug. 2 during a two-hour window that opens at 10 p.m. Eastern, but executives said in a July 30 call with reporters that there's a 60% chance of unfavorable weather that day. The company has additional launch opportunities each day through Aug. 7.
The launch is the first in a series of three the company plans to carry out to demonstrate the rocket's ability to achieve orbit. This launch is primarily focused on testing the performance of the rocket's first stage.
"We don't intend to hit a hole-in-one here," said Chris Kemp, chief executive and co-founder of Astra. "We intend to accomplish enough to ensure that we're able to get to orbit after three flights, and for us that means a nominal first-stage burn and getting the upper stage to separate successfully."
If all goes well, the rocket's five first-stage engines will fire for 2 minutes and 20 seconds, followed by the payload fairing separation and stage separation. The second stage's single engine would then ignite for a burn lasting about seven minutes.
[...] Astra attempted to launch a version of this vehicle, called Rocket 3.0, in March from Kodiak as the final competitor in the DARPA Launch Challenge. However, on the final day of the competition the company scrubbed its launch attempt less than a minute before liftoff.
Also at Everyday Astronaut which notes unfavorable weather conditions. It also notes that the launch will not be carried live, but instead suggests following Astra's Twitter feed.
Previously:
Smallsat Launcher Astra Preparing Two Consecutive Orbital Launches for DARPA Challenge
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