After a failed launching debut, space startup Astra 2020 may attempt its second orbital test shot before the end.
California based company Launched its first orbital test flight On Friday night (Sept. 11), its 38-foot-high (12-meter) rocket 3.1 launches from the Pacific Spaceport Complex on Kodiak Island in Alaska.
In the beginning everything went well. But then the Rocket 1.1 prompted the launch controllers to order an engine shutdown for safety reasons about 70 seconds after the lift off. The booster hit and came down to earth, exploding in one Fire visible to some observers on the ground.
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Preliminary data analysis indicates that there is a problem with the Rocket 1.1’s guidance system, which “appeared to introduce a slight roll oscillation in flight,” Astra co-founder and chief technology officer Adam Lunden told reporters during a teleconference on Saturday afternoon (September). Was. .12).
The Fireball, though dramatic, was not dangerous, said Astra co-founder and CEO Chris Kempe, who said the Rocket 1.1’s flight-termination system was working as expected.
He said the two-phase booster is so small that an onboard self-district system is not necessary.
“We can really just be the cause Rocket To land safely in the safety zone by ordering the engine to stop, “Kempe said.” It is a very effective technique. And that means the rocket has no explosives or fireworks, which makes it safe. “
It looks like the guidance error was caused by a software issue, London and Kemp said. That’s good news, if confirmed, suggests that the Astra’s path to the launch pad won’t be particularly long or tedious, they added.
“We can learn things that could set us back six months or a year.”
Instead, the necessary changes will “include a software update in our guide system,” he added. “That’s weird news, and I wouldn’t be too happy to be in Alaska before the end of the year with Rocket 2.3.”
Rocket 3.2 is almost ready to go. Work is underway at Astra’s Bay Area headquarters for the final assembly and testing of the Bocket Ster, which is similar to Rocket 1.1.
The Astra, which was founded in 2016, aims to successfully reach orbit within three attempts. The performance of Rocket 1.1 on Friday night was encouraging, keeping the company on track to achieve the target, Kempe said.
Thank you, @elonmusk. We appreciate it and are encouraged by the progress we have made today in our first flights to orbit https://t.co/CrH8iBYNpS.September 12, 2020
In the long run, Astra wants to secure a large share of the small-satellite launch market. That market is currently dominated Rocket Lab, Which offers rides dedicated to smartsets in orbit (as Astra plans to do), and SpaceX, Which carries Bantam spacecraft as “riders” on missions that offtake large primary payloads.
Astro aims to make its impact with an effective, flexible and highly responsive projection system. A full rocket 1.1 launch system, for example, was deployed by just six people in less than a week before Friday night’s test flight, Astra representatives said.
“There are not enough launches to go to enough places on the schedule demanded by the new pay-generation small-satellite payload,” Kemp said. “We are really excited to join Rocket Lab, SpaceX and other companies that deliver this next pay generation of these satellites to help connect and improve our lives with new services to better serve the people here.”
Mike W. Wall is the author of “Out There” (Grand Central Publishing, 2018; illustrated by Carl Tate), a book about the quest for alien life. Follow him on Twitter @Mamildld. Follow us on Twitter @speed.com or Facebook.
