The space company Astra Space Inc. recently expressed their interest in conducting their launch before November ends. Based on the recent update from the company, their launch window reopens on Saturday, November 20. The initial confirmation of the launch was supposed to be Friday, November 19, but the date was scrubbed for no apparent reasons.
Astra's plans to reach the low Earth orbit will take place very soon and people will have a chance to view the live feed of the launch itself. Hailing from the Bay Area, the start-up space enterprise Astra will deploy the spacecraft called the Launch Vehicle 0007 or LV0007 as part of their greater plan to initiate their capabilities upon joining the multibillion-dollar space industry.
Astra Launch Vehicle Livestream
As part of their few initial projects, the LV0007 will be sent to space from its launch pad called the Pacific Spaceport Complex, which is located at Kodiak Island in Alaska. The live feed of Astra's space launch can be viewed on Space in partnership with the company itself or through the live stream website provided by both Astra and NASASpaceflight LLC.
The Friday-turned-Saturday launch will be considered a test mission that will benefit not just the company, but their partnership with the US military. LV0007 will carry a reasonable dummy payload to test its capacity, a process similar to the tests of the initial Launch Vehicles. LV0007 has a towering height of 13 meters or 43 feet, enough to carry itself and the components that it will manage in the future.
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LV0007 Expected to Reach Orbit for the First Time
Before the anticipated November launch, Astra already attempted to fly one of its Launch Vehicles to space last August, the spacecraft LV0006, a direct predecessor of the current rocket. The launch of the said vehicle was unique, as it was performed horizontally instead of the typical vertical formation of space rocket liftoffs. Right after it elevated from the launch pad, the LV0006 straightened to the supposed vertical form but soon had technical problems following its initial issues. The unfortunate circumstances pushed the experts to conclude the mission in just 2.5 minutes following its launch.
Although it was not clear at first what led the launch to be terminated, Astra released a statement that 1 out of the 5 stage rockets engines equipped to the rocket malfunctioned upon its liftoff. Alongside the engines, LV0006's propellant distribution system also had an issue. To prevent the case from manifesting in future launches, the experts of the vehicles revamped the structure and system in LV0007 and other future rockets.
Astra's LV0007 launch is just a fragment of the company's greater plan to secure its position in the ever-developing space enterprise alongside the industry's biggest names. The top priority of Astra is to be the lead the best mass-production of easy-access and cost-effective rockets. The launch of LV0007 is the fourth test initiated by Astra, following September and December 2020, and the recent August 28 launch of LV0006.
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