The Astra rocket, named Launch Vehicle 0010 (LV0010), suffered a second stage failure after taking off from a pillow at Cape Canaveral Space Station in Florida at 1:43 p.m. EDT (1743 GMT). Two NASA cubic meters, the first of a six-satellite fleet that tracked hurricanes as part of a $ 30 million mission, were lost. “We had a nominal first-stage flight; however, the upper-stage engine shut down early and we did not deliver our payloads into orbit,” said Astra Amanda Durk Frye, senior manager for first-stage and engine production, during commentary on the live launch. . “We have shared our grief with @NASA and the payload team,” Astra officials added in a Twitter post (opening a new tab). “More information will be provided after completing the full data check.” Sunday’s launch attempt was originally aimed at 12 p.m. EDT (1600 GMT), but was delayed by a boat in the launch zone and a fuel issue. Video: Watch NASA’s LV0010 rocket launch failure with NASA satellites Figure 1 of 2 Astra’s Launch Vehicle 0010 carrying two NASA Hurricane TROPICS satellites is lifted off a pillow at Cape Canaveral Space Station in Florida on June 12, 2022. (Credit Image: Footage provided by NASASpaceflight LLC and Astra Space Inc.) Figure 1 of 2
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The Astra LV0010 mission carried NASA’s first satellites – Resolved Observations of Precipitation structure and Intensity with a Constellation of Smallsats (TROPICS). It was the first of three planned TROPICS missions this year from Astra, each carrying two NASA cubes about the size of a loaf of bread to complete the constellation of hurricane tracking. Astra’s three TROPICS mission agreement with NASA is worth a total of $ 7.95 million for the company. “TROPICS will give us very common views of tropical cyclones, providing information on their formation, enhancement and interactions with their environment, and providing critical data for storm monitoring and forecasting,” said Scott Braun, meteorologist at Goddard Space NASA Flight Center in Greenbelt. , Maryland, said in a statement (opens in new tab) before release. Using three pairs of TROPICS satellites, each in a different orbit, NASA hoped to track hurricanes and tropical storms every hour. It is unclear whether the organization can do this with only four satellites or whether the two lost in today’s launch failure will be replaced. Sunday’s failed launch is the second misfortune this year for the Astra. In February, the California-based company failed to launch four NASA cubic meters as part of its ELaNa 41 mission, a flight that also took off from the Florida launch pad and marked Astra’s first attempt to launch payloads for a customer. A problem with the rocket’s payload fairing was to blame, with Astra applying a patch to avoid a recurrence. The Astra successfully orbited customers with payloads a month later when its LV0009 rocket took off from a cushion in Alaska’s Kodiak Island, where the company had flown four previous test flights. The company’s first successful orbital launch took place on one of these test flights in November 2021. Email Tariq Malik at [email protected] (opens in new tab) or follow @tariqjmalik (opens in new tab). Follow us @Spacedotcom (opens in new tab), Facebook (opens in new tab) and Instagram (opens in new tab).
