California-based Astra successfully launched the first test flight of its 38-foot tall Rocket 3.1 vehicle on Friday, September 11. It rose from the Pacific Spaceport Complex on Kodiak Island. The flight did not last long, unsuccessfully reaching orbit.
All appeared to go well with the launch, but as the Rocket 3.1 began to drift off-course, launch controllers were forced to shutdown the engine, around 25 seconds after liftoff. The rocket booster fell to the ground, exploding in a fireball. The aim of the mission, ultimately, is to have a vehicle reach Earth’s orbit.
While the explosion was dramatic, Astra says that the mission was a definite success. In a blog post, the company said they were satisfied with Friday’s launch of Rocket 3.1 as it reached first stage burn. They acknowledged in the mission’s overview that it may take three rocket flights in order to get a rocket into orbit: “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 three flights. The more we accomplish, the more we learn, and the closer we are to reaching orbit.”
Rocket 3.2 has already been built, according to Astra. The company pledged on their website to use the fight data captured during Friday’s launch to set new goals and plans for the launch of Rocket 3.2, possibly this year.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk offered words of encouragement to the Astra team via Twitter.
Astra aims to provide inexpensive rides to space for small satellites with Rocket 3.2 and its successors.
Photo of crash used courtesy Eric Van Dongen.