California-based Astra scrubbed the Sunday, August 2, launch of its Rocket 3.1 booster from the Pacific Spaceport Complex on Kodiak Island. The cancellation was for safety reasons, after a ship wandered into downrange waters. The rocket would have been their first to be sent into Earth orbit.
Astra communicated the delay via Twitter, under ten minutes prior to the expected launch: “Boat could not be cleared in time for us to launch within the window (ends at 9pm PT), and we have to unfortunately scrub for today.”
On Monday, August 3, the company also used Twitter to announce that there would be no launch until later in the week: “Update: We won’t be making a launch attempt today due to weather (triggered lightning). Our launch window is through August 7th and weather is expected to improve through the week.”
The rocket recently cleared a static hotfire test, which is essentially a dress rehearsal where engines are fired at full thrust.
Astra aims to provide inexpensive rides to space for small satellites with the 38-foot-tall Rocket 3.1 and its successors. The upcoming flight will not be carrying any payloads, as it is merely a demonstration mission.
They explain in their online mission description what the goals are: “For this flight, our first orbital attempt, our primary objective is to achieve a nominal first stage burn. If we make it this far, we’ll be happy with our progress and be well on our way to reaching orbit within 3 flights. The more we accomplish, the more we learn, and the closer we are to reaching orbit.”