Astra Rocket Fails to Deliver 2 NASA Satellites for Tropical Cyclone Monitoring; What's Next?

On Sunday, Astra, a California-based space company, had a botched satellite launch intended to help NASA detect tropical cyclones after the rocket's second-stage booster engine shut down early.

According to Fox News, Astra's 45-foot Rocket 3.3 was launched from Space Launch Complex 46 at Cape Canaveral, Florida, soon after 1:40 p.m. local time with two TROPICS Earth-observing satellites from NASA.

The Verge said Astra's Launch Vehicle 0010 (LV0010) lifted off from Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Still, the upper stage failed approximately 10 minutes later.

The launch was part of NASA's plan to send six TROPICS satellites into orbit, which are small, foot-long CubeSats designed to assist NASA in following tropical cyclones as they develop. CubeSats are small, low-cost satellites that are typically produced by college and university researchers.

NASA TROPICS Satellite Lost After Astra Failed Launch

Through its Twitter page, Astra informed the world of the tragic news that befell its latest expedition, notably in its relationship with NASA. The company's last project ended on a sour note, so it shifted its emphasis to a joint venture with the national space agency to bring the TROPICS weather satellite, which would specialize in storm monitoring.

The corporation stated that it had a "nominal first stage flight" and that the fault was discovered during the upper stage's route to orbit. Astra had difficulties in the rocket's upper stages 10 minutes after launch, resulting in a dull finish in which the rocket and the weather satellites in its cargo were lost.

Astra's Livestream captured all that transpired after its mission, which ended in the payload's inability to reach orbit. It was meant to bring the two CubeSat satellites together under NASA's TROPICS program to focus on their climatic capabilities, such as looking at tropical storms or weather abnormalities.

Its goal is to deliver more data than existing satellites in orbit.

About The Launch

It was the company's fifth failure and the seventh launch of Astra's tiny "Venture-class" rocket. NASA's first of three scheduled launches of six mini CubeSats, two at a time, into three orbital planes took place on Sunday, CBS News reported.

Given the rather dangerous nature of depending on tiny shoebox-sized CubeSats and a rocket with a very limited track record to accomplish mission objectives, the $40-million project only requires four satellites and two successful launches.

According to the NASA contract, the remaining two missions must be completed by the end of July. Given Sunday's setback, it's unclear whether Astra will be able to keep that timeline.

The 43-foot-tall Rocket 3.3 rocketed out from pad 46 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, putting on a dramatic spectacle for local residents and visitors enjoying a bright day on surrounding beaches, with its five first-stage engines delivering 32,500 pounds of thrust.

The first stage blasted the cargo out of the lower atmosphere before passing over to the rocket's upper stage's solitary engine.

The same CBS News report said NASA would pay $8 million for three Astra launches and $32 million for CubeSat development and testing, as well as a year of data analysis.

The TROPICS mission carries a higher level of technical risk than NASA typically accepts - CubeSats, while inexpensive, have limited redundancy, and Astra's Rocket 3.3 has yet to demonstrate reliable performance - but officials say the potential scientific payoff justifies a "high-risk, high-impact" project.

After Sunday's failure, NASA science chief Thomas Zurbuchen tweeted, "Even though we are disappointed right now, we know: There is value in taking risks in our overall NASA Science portfolio because innovation is required for us to lead."

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