Quote from: Steven Pietrobon on 02/01/2023 05:29 amA bit engine rich at the end?Some kerolox engine also sent TEA-TEB at shutdown
A bit engine rich at the end?
Our first hot fire using the thrust vector control (TVC) system for Rocket 4’s first stage engine. The TVC is the mechanism that allows us to control the direction of the thrust for the rocket used by our Guidance Navigation Control (GNC) systems. #AdAstra
Join us for the livestream of @Astra's 2nd Annual Spacetech Day on Tuesday, April 25, 2023. We'll share updates on Launch System 2, the Astra Spacecraft Engine™, and more: http://astra.com/livestream #SpacetechDay2023
Astra says Rocket 4 development on schedule for late 2023 first flightJeff FoustMarch 31, 2023WASHINGTON — Astra is still planning to conduct a first launch of its Rocket 4 vehicle before the end of the year as it scales up production of spacecraft electric propulsion systems.
Can someone confirm the engines of first and second stage of Astra Launch System 2?
We're just one week away from the livestream of @Astra's 2nd Annual Spacetech Day on Tuesday, April 25, 2023. Join us for updates on Launch System 2, the Astra Spacecraft Engine™, and more: https://astra.com/livestream #SpacetechDay2023
SPACE FORCE AWARDS ASTRA NEW LAUNCH ORDER FOR ROCKET 4APRIL 21, 2023Task order valued at $11.45 million for a launch of an ESPA-class space vehicle and additional cubesats through the Orbital Services Program (OSP-4) contractALAMEDA, Calif. – April 21, 2023 – Astra Space, Inc. (“Astra”)(Nasdaq: ASTR) announced today that it has been awarded a launch task order for Rocket 4 through the United States Space Force’s Orbital Services Program (OSP)-4 contract.“The Space Force deliberately structured the OSP-4 contract to leverage emerging launch solutions for mission partners like the DoD Space Test Program,” said Lt. Col. Justin Beltz, chief of Space Systems Command’s Small Launch and Targets Division. “Today’s award reflects the tremendous promise industry is bringing to the table with systems like Rocket 4. We look forward to working with Astra to make this launch a success.”The STP-S29B mission is a Category 2 Mission Assurance launch, which will entail substantial efforts from Astra in tandem with the Government team and its independent mission assurance contractors to support a mission designed for success.“STP-S29B demands a higher level of mission assurance than previous Astra launches and therefore represents a significant increase in Astra’s coordination with the Space Force to perform a launch designed for mission success,” said Dr. Thomas Williams, senior director of Federal Sales at Astra. “Astra’s ability to compete for this mission was based on the tremendous work that our team has done to design a repeatably reliable Rocket 4 and our previous experience successfully delivering multi-manifest missions to their desired orbits.”
The upper stage of Astra's Rocket 4 will use the vacuum variant of @ursamajortech's Hadley, an oxygen-rich staged combustion engine fueled by liquid kerosene that will provide 6,500 pounds of thrust: #AdAstra #UrsaMajorTech
ICYMI: During @Astra’s 2nd annual Spacetech Day showcase, the company unveiled their Rocket 4 for the first time.The unit they showed will be used for ground testing and fit checks in preparation for the vehicle’s first test flight NET the end of this year.
In our latest video we take a deep dive into @Astra's rocket factory, and their brand new rocket production line. We chat with CEO Chirs Kemp (@Kemp) and VP of Manufacturing Bryson Gentile, and I try to get a payload flown on Rocket 4! @NASASpaceflight➡️
Building factory that is geared upto weekly launches and capable of supporting daily launches. Their business plan is behind times especially when competition will be flying RLVs. Once over dozen launches a year RLVs are the way to go.
Quote from: TrevorMonty on 07/09/2023 12:21 pmBuilding factory that is geared upto weekly launches and capable of supporting daily launches. Their business plan is behind times especially when competition will be flying RLVs. Once over dozen launches a year RLVs are the way to go.Totally agreed, but “cheap, frequent small expendables” is a perfect segue into making cheap ballistic *ahem* hypersonic missiles.Which is partially why I think DARPA has been supporting smallsat launch startups for the last >2 decades, even if the companies themselves don’t tout that business case. Hence the storable propellant rocket engine Draper from Ursa Major (now an engine manufacturing partner of Astra). Hence RocketLab’s “HASTE”
I don’t believe Astra’s founders built it to be a ballistic missile company. But that’s kind of the obvious remaining use case for mass manufacturing of small expendables once reuse is proven like it is now. Draper is an evolution of Hadley, which Astra is already using. And technically, for prompt global strike based in the US, it’s not necessarily required to use storables.DARPA may have different motivations than Astra.
Quote from: Robotbeat on 07/10/2023 06:24 pmI don’t believe Astra’s founders built it to be a ballistic missile company. But that’s kind of the obvious remaining use case for mass manufacturing of small expendables once reuse is proven like it is now. Draper is an evolution of Hadley, which Astra is already using. And technically, for prompt global strike based in the US, it’s not necessarily required to use storables.DARPA may have different motivations than Astra.People thought the US military would save Virgin Orbit too, since their "launch from an airplane" tech was more flexible than anything else. That didn't work out either.