Rocket 3.3

Rocket 3.3’s failure was Astra’s first since completing its merger with Holicity, a SPAC that raised about $500,000,000 in cash.

Astra Space conducted its third orbital launch attempt from Kodiak, Alaska on 2021-08-28 using an upgraded Rocket 3.3 small launch vehicle.

Astra Space is preparing a next attempt to reach orbit with its Rocket 3.3 vehicle from Kodiak Island, Alaska, with an earliest launch opportunity on 2021-11-08 and a window running through 2021-11-14.

Astra Space’s Rocket 3.3 reached orbit on 2021-11-20 on a mission for the U.S. Space Force.

NASA’s Launch Services Program is responsible for launching six TROPICS cubesats on three Rocket 3.3 vehicles from Astra Space from Cape Canaveral, currently scheduled for late spring through early summer pending the outcome of Astra’s 2022-02-10 launch failure investigation.

Astra Space identified two problems that led to the failure of its Rocket 3.3 launch on 2022-02-10.

Astra’s Rocket 3.3 launched from Kodiak Island, Alaska on 2022-03-15 and placed 16 Swarm satellites into orbit.

Astra's Rocket 3.3 first stage worked as expected on the 2022-06-12 flight while the upper stage suffered an anomaly that caused its engine to run out of fuel early.

Astra canceled all remaining Rocket 3.3 launches on 2022-08-04 to focus on development and operations of the larger Rocket 4.

Astra’s Rocket 3.3 is listed among the operational small launch vehicles but Astra discontinued Rocket 3.3 on 2022-08-04 to focus on developing Rocket 4.

Astra had a $7,950,000 contract awarded in February 2021 for three launches of its Rocket 3.3 vehicle, each carrying two TROPICS cubesats.

Astra retired the Rocket 3.3 vehicle on 2022-08-04 to focus on the larger Rocket 4.

On 2022-09-28, Astra narrowed the cause of the 2022-06-12 Rocket 3.3 launch failure to an issue with the upper stage engine that shut down early after consuming fuel at a higher rate than planned.

NASA originally selected Astra to launch the TROPICS satellites with a $7,950,000 contract for three launches of its Rocket 3.3 vehicle.

Astra retired the Rocket 3.3 after the June 2022 failure.