San Francisco-area startup Astra became the latest U.S. rocket builder to reach space on Tuesday, with the successful launch of its Rocket 3.2 vehicle from Kodiak, Alaska.
The rocket came just shy of reaching orbit, with Astra CEO Chris Kemp telling reporters after the launch that the vehicle reached the target altitude of 390 kilometers but was “just a half a kilometer per second short” of the target orbital velocity.
“This far exceeded our team’s expectations,” Kemp said.
Astra shared images captured by the rocket at the edge of space. The rocket did not carry any satellites or other payloads, as the launch was a demonstration mission.
Astra was incorporated in October 2016. Headquartered in Alameda, California, Astra has raised about $100 million to date, from investors including Advance (the investment arm of the family of the late billionaire S.I. Newhouse), ACME Capital, Airbus Ventures, Canaan Partners and Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) founder Marc Benioff.
The company’s rocket stands about 40 feet tall, putting it in the category of small launch vehicles. These small rockets have become more popular due to an increase in the number of small satellites and spacecraft, often the size of a mailbox or washing machine, looking for rides to orbit. Astra’s rocket is advertised as capable of carrying up to 100 kilograms to low Earth orbit.
Alongside SpaceX and Rocket Lab, Astra represents the third U.S. company begun since the turn of the century to privately develop a satellite launch system and successfully reach space.