Astra launch from Kodiak Island in Alaska doesn’t take off

3rd Mar 2020
Astra launch from Kodiak Island in Alaska doesn’t take off

The scheduled rocket launch from Astra Space that was due to take place yesterday was suddenly aborted due to a technical anomaly following several delays throughout the day.

All systems were set to green and ready for a countdown when one of the team called a hold due to an anomaly in the data. The launch was then held back while a number of changes were made, including replacing one of the antennas that communicate with the launch vehicle. After a couple of hours, the Astra team eventually took the decision to abort the mission.

The launch was part of a competition held by the US Defence Agency DARPA. Astra were the only remaining participants in the competition after Virgin Orbit pulled out and Vector Space went into administration. This now means that Astra have completely missed out on the potential $12m prize offered by DARPA.

Last Updated:
9th Feb 2022
Category:
Earth observationNews
Tags:
Alaska SpaceAstra Space
Published by Space Expert All posts by Space Expert

Richard is an established commentator with a strong political background and a career that has spanned across the energy sector (oil, gas & renewable energy) as well as the space industry (satellites, launch & telemetry). He is a self-proclaimed environmental campaigner and is particularly enthusiastic about the role that the Scottish space industry will play in tackling the climate emergency that is happening around the world.

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