Embedded Files
Astra's Rocket 3.3 at Space Launch Complex 46, from NASA
Faliure of the astra launch
Faliure of the astra launch
Rocket contracted by NASA malfunctions midflight. What are the consequences?
April #, 2022
Two months ago, a space company by the name of Astra was contracted by NASA to launch a set of 4 CubeSats into Low Earth Orbit for study in mission ELaNa 41. Unfortunately, a malfunction during the mission led to the payload being destroyed, and the mission ending in failure. While this incident may have passed, it is still having ramifications in the larger space industry. What is the significance of this failure, and what does it mean for the future of public/private space collaboration?
Rocket 3.3 from another angle, depicting the logos of NASA and Astra, as well as the American flag. Picture from NASA
Astra is a privately-owned startup company founded in 2016 that primarily creates launch vehicles. Recently, NASA contracted Astra to launch a set of 4 small cube research satellites, created in various locations across the United States. The vehicle, the Rocket 3.3, was launched on February 10th at 3 PM, initially proceeding smoothly until things went awry when the second stage needed to jettison. It failed to do so, and the fairing that housed the payload did not jettison until the upper engine fired, causing the craft to spin out of control. Since it hadn’t made it to orbit yet, the rocket subsequently fell back to Earth, landing in the Pacific Ocean. All cargo on board was lost.
A more broad look at Rocket 3.3, from NASA
The loss of these satellites have done a blow to Astra’s reputation, and its stock by proxy. As of now, Astra and NASA are working with the Federal Aviation Administration to see if they can properly identify what caused the in-flight malfunction.
Although the loss of the 4 satellite and its respective carrier rocket was saddening, hopefully the discovery of whatever issue caused this malfunction can be addressed, possibly improving Astra’s further rocket designs and development, and the larger space travel industry.
This is Cole’s second year at Edgewood, and the first on the writing staff. He enjoys creative writing, drawing, and playing various video games, both PC and VR. He hopes to better his writing by creating stories about interesting events.
added paragraph
Though the short term effects of the failure of the launch are more immediately obvious, but what about the long term effects? One of the most immediately noticeable effects are the ones on Astra themselves, who's stock went down quite rapidly after the incident was reported. On the larger space industry, it may cause NASA and other national or international space agencies like ESA or JAXA to be less trustful of private space agencies. It may take a while for the stigma of private agencies like Astra to wear off, either with time, or after some more successful missions. For now, it's likely to see some hesitancy from national and international space agencies to work with smaller companies, in fear of repeating the failure of the ELaNa 41 mission.
Page updated
Report abuse