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Spaceflight Signs Multi-Launch Contract With Astra, Monday Launch Scrubbed

By Rachel Jewett | March 14, 2022

      Astra is targeting first mission for Spaceflight on March 15. Photo: Astra

      Rideshare provider Spaceflight signed a multi-launch agreement with Astra Space, and is targeting the first launch under the agreement on Tuesday. Spaceflight and Astra announced the agreement on Monday, and planned to also launch on Monday, but the launch was scrubbed due to weather. 

      Specifics of the deal were not disclosed, but Spaceflight has access to Astra launch opportunities through 2025, the companies said. 

      The launch set for Tuesday, Spaceflight’s Astra-1, has three Spaceflight customers, including Portland State Aerospace Society and NearSpace Launch. The mission is set to take off from the Astra Spaceport in Kodiak, Alaska and to deploy the customers to a 525 km circular Sun-Synchronous Orbit. Spaceflight managed the mission for all customers onboard and worked closely with the Astra team during the integration process.

      “We continuously look for opportunities to provide our customers access to flexible and reliable options to get to orbit,” said Curt Blake, CEO and president of Spaceflight. “By expanding our launch partner portfolio to include Astra, we can increase the launch opportunities available to our customers. Astra’s willingness to explore creative launch solutions and shared dedication to customer success makes them a great partner.”

      This will be Astra’s first launch attempt after a failure on Feb. 10. Astra provided an update last week about the mission’s fairing separation issue and a separate software issue with the thrust vector control system.