Two small NASA satellites intended to study the development of hurricanes failed to enter orbit on June 12 when their Astra rocket closed before reaching the required height, the US space agency said.
“After a nominal first-stage flight, the upper stage of the rocket closed early and failed to deliver the TROPICS CubeSats into orbit,” NASA’s Launch Services Program said on Twitter. In a pre-launch post on its website, NASA described the TROPICS CubeSats as a constellation of six shoe box-sized satellites that will “study the formation and development of tropical cyclones, making observations more often than possible with at the present time. satellites “. The Astra received a $ 7.95 million contract from NASA in February 2021 for three launches, each with a pair of TROPICS devices on board. Hoping to become a major player in the market for small satellite launches, Astra promises more frequent launches with greater flexibility than companies using larger rockets, such as SpaceX and Arianespace. However, the start-up encountered recurring problems as the two-stage signature rocket failed to reach orbit.
In February, during another NASA CubeSat mission, the second stage of the Astra failed to reach orbit due to a problem that released the shells that cover the satellites during launch. “We’re sorry we could not deliver the first two TROPICS satellites,” Astra CEO Chris Kemp said in a tweet on Sunday. “Nothing is more important to our team than the trust of our customers and the successful delivery of the other TROPICS satellites.” Satellite,
