Astra stock ASTR swings: LV0009 rocket reaches orbit
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A look from aboard the upper stage on rocket LV0009, during company’s livestream of March 15, 2022.
Astra / NASASpaceflight
Rocket builder AstraAfter a brief hiccup, Tuesday’s successful orbital mission saw the crew return to flight. Following the launch, shares of the company went wild.
Astra’s rocket LV0009 was carrying the payloads of three satellite customers for a Mission for Spaceflight. It took off from Astra’s Kodiak launchpad, Alaska.
Although the rocket was placed in orbit, Astra could not immediately confirm successful satellite deployment. The stock dropped as much as 9 percent before Chris Kemp, Astra CEO, announced that the launch had succeeded.
“The payloads started communicating with ground stations. Our customers are calling us and indicating that satellites are alive – they’re talking, which means they’ve been successfully deployed. Kemp explained that it was a nominal flight on company’s website.
After the mission ended, Astra stock was traded in large volumes. The stock briefly halted trading and bounced around above and below $3.51 per share.
Astra’s LV0009 rocket takes off from Kodiak (Alaska) on March. 15, 2022.
Astra / NASASpaceflight
On Tuesday, the company made its first flight attempt since 2009. the mid-launch failure of its LV0008 rocket on Feb. 10.Astra’s probe into the LV0008 mission revealed that there was an electrical problem that stopped the payload from fully deploying and a different software issue that caused rocket’s upperstage, which is responsible for delivering satellites, to fall.
Astra had announced that it was taking corrective steps to the rocket’s design and its software before it launched Tuesday’s mission.
Astra’s 43-foot tall vehicle would be classed as small rocket in the larger market. Astra’s goal is to launch as many of its small rockets as it can — aiming to hit a rate of one rocket per day by 2025 — and drop its $2.5 million price point even further.
The company went public last year after completing a SPAC merger, raising funds to build out production of its small rocketsClick here to expand its facilities in Alameda, CaliforniaExpand its business lines in spacecraft and spaceports.
Astra has seen its valuation drop in three months. shares battered alongside other space growth stocks.
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