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Launch aimed at carrying two of NASA’s satellites into space ends in disappointment

The launch, planned by the private space company Astra to carry two NASA satellites into space, did not go well; NASA lost two satellites at once.
 Launch aimed at carrying two of NASA’s satellites into space ends in disappointment
READING NOW Launch aimed at carrying two of NASA’s satellites into space ends in disappointment

California-based private spaceflight company Astra attempted to launch a rocket from Florida yesterday and once again failed to deliver its payload. The rocket’s upper stage engine reportedly shut down prematurely and two NASA weather satellites were unable to reach low Earth orbit.

Astra announced the situation via a tweet. “We had a nominal first-stage flight,” he tweeted. The upper stage closed early and we did not deliver the payloads to orbit. We shared our sadness with NASA. More information will be available after completing a full data review.”

The launch followed the company’s previous February 10 launch in Florida. After the second stage of Rocket 3.3 got out of control, the satellites were undeliverable to low Earth orbit in this launch as well.

The last failed launch attempt was aimed at placing two CubeSats on NASA’s TROPICS project, which would serve to demonstrate the effectiveness of low-cost orbital tracking instruments for tropical cyclones on an almost global scale. Sunday’s launch was the first part of the goal of deploying a total of six satellites. This launch was planned to be followed by two more launches.

Astra aims to use orbital launch systems, rockets built to “significantly reduce the cost of access to space”, along with cost-cutting measures such as kerosene-fueled engines and a compact design. Astra’s rocket is 5 times shorter than SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rockets.

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