FAA
Live coverage: Debut flight of Astra’s satellite launcher scrubbed
Astra was gearing up for the first orbital test flight of its small satellite launcher, named Rocket 3.0, from Alaska on Monday, but officials scrubbed the launch after detecting a problem with a guidance, navigation and control system in the final minute of the countdown. Poor weather at the launch site also prevented liftoff over the weekend on the first of two missions under the auspices of DARPA’s Launch Challenge.
Fresh out of stealth mode, Astra gearing up for orbital launch from Alaska
Some time in the next few days, a California-based company that has quietly toiled to develop a new light-class satellite launcher since 2016 will attempt to send three CubeSats into orbit from Kodiak Island, Alaska, on the first of two missions scheduled before the end of March to win up to $12 million in prize money from the U.S. military.
Rocket Lab chief says maiden launch result maintains pace for commercial service
The result of last week’s inaugural test flight of Rocket Lab’s Electron satellite launcher from New Zealand, which reached space but was unable to enter orbit, positions the company for two more demonstration missions in the coming months before the privately-operated booster enters commercial service by the end of the year, Rocket Lab’s chief executive said.