Astra LV0007 - STP-27AD2 - Kodiak - 20 November 2021 (0616 UTC)

[RocketLover0119]

Astra has announced the launch window for the STP-27AD2 mission! First window is from October 27th-October 31st!

https://astra.com/news/lv0007-launch-window/

https://twitter.com/ChrisG_NSF/status/1447910039751208962

[tleski]

https://twitter.com/Kemp/status/1447932576119808004

[xyv]

I know it's a white star and next to a US flag but wow that picture has a Red Square May Day parade vibe to it.  I think the stepped diameter rocket makes me think missile

[Ken the Bin]

Notice from Alaska Aerospace, Pacific Spaceport Complex Alaska.

[zubenelgenubi]

Cross-post; October 22 update:

https://spaceflightnow.com/launch-schedule/

Oct. 28 • Rocket 3 • STP-27AD2
Launch window: 0400-0730 GMT (12:00-3:30 a.m. EDT)
Launch site: Pacific Spaceport Complex, Kodiak Island, Alaska

[cdebuhr]

I know it's a white star and next to a US flag but wow that picture has a Red Square May Day parade vibe to it.  I think the stepped diameter rocket makes me think missile

I hear ya.  I've never been able to help but look at Astra's rocket and think that it really looks like it should be coming out of a hardened silo.

[FlatFootShift]

Considering there is a potential launch tomorrow, nothing whatsoever to talk about, no one hyped or anything, and most importantly not even the Astra director or marketing person? Never seen a company with so little to say

[trimeta]

[Upcoming launch thread: https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=54982.0]

Considering there is a potential launch tomorrow, nothing whatsoever to talk about, no one hyped or anything, and most importantly not even the Astra director or marketing person? Never seen a company with so little to say

Sounds like the start of the launch window has been moved to November 5th:

https://twitter.com/thesheetztweetz/status/1453092583580782593

[trimeta]

The October 27th-31st part of the launch window appears to have been removed, they're now only talking about the window beginning November 5th:

https://twitter.com/thesheetztweetz/status/1453092583580782593

[Ken the Bin]

The October 27th-31st part of the launch window appears to have been removed, they're now only talking about the window beginning November 5th:

Astra tweeted about that.

https://twitter.com/Astra/status/1453095600581275649

We’re proud of our team for getting us back to the pad in 60 days. After the team & LV0007 arrived in Kodiak, we learned planned range improvements would not finish in time to complete the necessary preparations for a launch in 1st segment of our window. Stay tuned. #AdAstra

[Ken the Bin]

Updated notice from Pacific Spaceport Complex Alaska:

Pacific Spaceport Complex Alaska (PSCA) will be conducting a launch from Launch Pad LP-3B at Narrow Cape, Kodiak, Alaska, with a launch azimuth of 172°. Daily launch operations are scheduled between 0400-0730 UTC which is 2000-2330 Alaska Time on November 5th through November 12th, 2021. Mariners are requested to remain clear of the Hazard Areas during the scheduled launch operations.

Note: On Sunday, November 7, Alaska will change from AKDT to AKST, so beginning on Monday morning UTC, Sunday evening AKST, the local time will be 1900-2230.

[Ken the Bin]

Per the FAA TFRs, here's clarification about the time change from AKDT to AKST.  Local time is staying the same and the UTC time is changing.

This also clarifies that the dates in the PSCA notice are relative to local time, not UTC.

Saturday, November 6 - Sunday, November 7 at 04:00-07:30 UTC (Friday - Saturday at 20:00-23:30 AKDT).
Monday, November 8 - Saturday, November 13 at 05:00-08:30 UTC (Sunday - Friday at 20:00-23:30 AKST).

[Lewis007]

Launch has shifted to the right again, the window is now Nov 8 - 14, with a static fire test coming up.

https://twitter.com/Astra/status/1456053217238810625

[Ken the Bin]

Here's an updated notice from the PSCA.  It does NOT include the new delay reflected in the tweet posted above, but it does provide clarification of the dates being local and adds two more launch days.

Pacific Spaceport Complex Alaska (PSCA) will be conducting a launch from Launch Pad LP-3B at Narrow Cape, Kodiak, Alaska, with a launch azimuth of 172°. Daily launch operations are scheduled between 0400-0730 UTC which is 2000-2330 Alaska Time on November 05th through November 07th, 2021 (local). Daily launch operations are scheduled between 0500-0830 UTC which is 2000-2330 Alaska Time on November 08th through November 14th, 2021 (local). Daily launch operations are scheduled between 0500-0830 UTC which is 2000-2330 Alaska Time on November 18th through November 19th, 2021 (local). Mariners are requested to remain clear of the Hazard Areas during the scheduled launch operations.

Here's my interpretation of the current schedule:

Tuesday, November 9 - Monday, November 15 at 05:00-08:30 UTC (Monday - Sunday at 20:00-23:30 AKST).
Friday, November 19 - Saturday, November 20 at 05:00-08:30 UTC (Thursday - Friday at 20:00-23:30 AKST).

[Jrcraft]

Not to be off topic, but if this flight reaches orbit, can we get an Astra section?

[Ken the Bin]

I haven't seen anything from Astra, but per the updated FAA TFR, there will not be a launch attempt tonight (8/9 Nov).  The next available opportunity is tomorrow night (9/10 Nov).

Effective Date(s):
      From November 10, 2021 at 0500 UTC
      To November 13, 2021 at 0830 UTC

[Ken the Bin]

Now Astra has tweeted:

https://twitter.com/Astra/status/1457868668038103040

LV0007 update: We have started static fire operations in Kodiak. We expect to launch no earlier than Nov 11th. Stay tuned for updates. #AdAstra

[zubenelgenubi]

LV0007 update: We have started static fire operations in Kodiak. We expect to launch no earlier than Nov 11th. Stay tuned for updates. #AdAstra

NET November 12 05:00 UTC = NET November 11 20:00 AKST

[zubenelgenubi]

Potential for two USA orbital launches on November 12 UTC:
This launch,
Starlink 4-1.

Edit: Or not.

[zubenelgenubi]

Seeking news regarding the static fire? There's no update (yet) via Astra's Twitter account.

LV0007 update: We have started static fire operations in Kodiak. We expect to launch no earlier than Nov 11th. Stay tuned for updates. #AdAstra

[Ken the Bin]

Per the newest FAA TFRs, the launch is delayed another day, NET Friday/Saturday.

Effective Date(s):
      From November 13, 2021 at 0500 UTC
      To November 15, 2021 at 0830 UTC

https://tfr.faa.gov/save_pages/detail_1_6425.html

Effective Date(s):
      From November 19, 2021 at 0500 UTC
      To November 20, 2021 at 0830 UTC

https://tfr.faa.gov/save_pages/detail_1_6423.html

[EnigmaSCADA]

Per the newest FAA TFRs, the launch is delayed another day, NET Friday/Saturday.

Effective Date(s):
From November 13, 2021 at 0500 UTC
To November 15, 2021 at 0830 UTC

https://tfr.faa.gov/save_pages/detail_1_6425.html

Effective Date(s):
From November 19, 2021 at 0500 UTC
To November 20, 2021 at 0830 UTC

https://tfr.faa.gov/save_pages/detail_1_6423.html

Why two date ranges? Is this like how last time they had 2 windows (one in late Oct, another early Nov) or what?

Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk

[Ken the Bin]

Per the newest FAA TFRs, the launch is delayed another day, NET Friday/Saturday.

Effective Date(s):
From November 13, 2021 at 0500 UTC
To November 15, 2021 at 0830 UTC

https://tfr.faa.gov/save_pages/detail_1_6425.html

Effective Date(s):
From November 19, 2021 at 0500 UTC
To November 20, 2021 at 0830 UTC

https://tfr.faa.gov/save_pages/detail_1_6423.html

Why two date ranges? Is this like how last time they had 2 windows (one in late Oct, another early Nov) or what?

Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk

Yes, though I don't know why either of the gaps exist(ed).

[Ken the Bin]

Now bumped out an additional day to November 13/14.

New, replacing 1/6425:

Effective Date(s):
      From November 14, 2021 at 0500 UTC
      To November 15, 2021 at 0830 UTC

https://tfr.faa.gov/save_pages/detail_1_6770.html

Unchanged:

Effective Date(s):
      From November 19, 2021 at 0500 UTC
      To November 20, 2021 at 0830 UTC

https://tfr.faa.gov/save_pages/detail_1_6423.html

[Ken the Bin]

Now bumped out to November 18/19.  The only FAA TFR left is:

Effective Date(s):
      From November 19, 2021 at 0500 UTC
      To November 20, 2021 at 0830 UTC

https://tfr.faa.gov/save_pages/detail_1_6423.html

https://twitter.com/Astra/status/1459585242709192706

LV0007 update: Static fire operations continue this weekend in Kodiak. We expect to launch during our next window, which begins on November 18th. #Adastra

📷 :: @TheFavoritist

[FlatFootShift]

Noticed the launch date changed again. Is this a viable long term launch location being what the weather can be like in Kodiak, or anywhere in the northern areas? If you were a customer, it doesn't seem a reliable place to count on your load being delivered on time.

[imprezive]

Noticed the launch date changed again. Is this a viable long term launch location being what the weather can be like in Kodiak, or anywhere in the northern areas? If you were a customer, it doesn't seem a reliable place to count on your load being delivered on time.

What makes you think it’s the weather? They’ve been trying to static fire for like a week now.

[TrevorMonty]

Noticed the launch date changed again. Is this a viable long term launch location being what the weather can be like in Kodiak, or anywhere in the northern areas? If you were a customer, it doesn't seem a reliable place to count on your load being delivered on time.

Most launch sites are a compromise between, orbit access, weather, airtraffic and access.
With RLVs downrange recovery sea conditions will add another constraint.





Sent from my SM-G570Y using Tapatalk

[trimeta]

Noticed the launch date changed again. Is this a viable long term launch location being what the weather can be like in Kodiak, or anywhere in the northern areas? If you were a customer, it doesn't seem a reliable place to count on your load being delivered on time.

Theoretically, their mobile launch system makes it easy to launch from other sites. I suspect the paperwork necessary to get approval to launch from more crowded sites is not inconsiderable (and those sites might want to see a track record of successful launches, given Astra's past attempts), but at least it wouldn't require building substantively new hardware.

[Galactic Penguin SST]

Any update in the air/marine space closure notices?

[Ken the Bin]

Any update in the air/marine space closure notices?

The same FAA TFR for November 18/19 and November 19/20 remains in effect.

There is a marine notice from the USCG, but I haven't seen anything from the NGA, which is surprising if Astra is going to actually make an attempt tonight.

[Galactic Penguin SST]

https://twitter.com/kemp/status/1461392289209536516?s=21

[Ken the Bin]

Webcast (video id sIIlpatVwBE):

[zubenelgenubi]

Three comments:
Good to know of a successful Static Fire on the 17th.
We're all on Standard Time now, not Daylight Saving Time.
Re: webcast. Yeah, NSF!

Welcome to LV0007 launch day! Live coverage will begin at T-60 via @NASASpaceflight. Tonight’s launch window opens at 9:00pm [PST]. Watch with us @ https://astra.com/livestream (photo of hotfire yesterday).

[Steven Pietrobon]

Here's a PDF version of the web based press kit.

[Steven Pietrobon]

The YouTube clock now showing a 31 minute delay to the start of the webcast.

[Steven Pietrobon]

Webcast has started. About 53 minutes to launch.

Keeping an eye on upper level winds. First stage filled with propellant.

[zubenelgenubi]

Webcast has started. About 53 minutes to launch.

Launch circa 20 minutes after the hour. (~06:20 UTC)

From Q&A: number of members on the Astra Red Team in Kodiak = 5.

Into the T-30 minutes pre-arranged hold.

[Steven Pietrobon]

T-30 minutes. Have entered a hold.

[Steven Pietrobon]

Launch team.

[Steven Pietrobon]

Taking time to verify some upper stage systems.

[Yggdrasill]

It's a cold day in Alaska, and the upper stage umbilical looked very icy. They zoomed in on it just before they went to stock video.

Maybe they need to scrub and insulate some lines better. (The issue might be something completely different, of course.)

If the flight goes off successfully, it does help prove the launch envelope.

[Steven Pietrobon]

Still in the hold. Showing safety zones.

[zubenelgenubi]

Still in the hold.

Today's window is 05:00 to 08:30 UTC.  So, they need to emerge from the hold before or at 08:00 UTC today.

Tomorrow's window also 05:00 to 08:30 UTC.

From the webcast:
Launches from Kodiak share airspace with airplane flights to and from Anchorage.

The dates and times of launch windows are constrainted by the  FAA because the increased rate of passenger and freight flights due to Thanksgiving (stated as "the holidays" in the webcast). Thus, no launch window on Nov 21 UTC, etc.

IIRC, Anchorage can be a midpoint for transpolar flights, as well as a destination.

We live in the age of (jet) airplanes, even in Alaska!

[Yggdrasill]

Countdown resumed!

[Steven Pietrobon]

Count has resumed. Launch is at about 7:10 UTC.

[zubenelgenubi]

Yes, new T-0 is 07:10 UTC.

[Steven Pietrobon]

Vehicle diagram.

[Steven Pietrobon]

Looking at a 10 minute hold.

[Steven Pietrobon]

Count has resumed. Launch at 7:25 UTC.

[Steven Pietrobon]

Launch timeline.

[Steven Pietrobon]

Scrubbed at T-11 minutes and 7 seconds. No reason given yet. Will try again tomorrow.

[zubenelgenubi]

Scrub! No explanation at this time.
Another launch window tomorrow, 05:00 to 08:30 UTC.
Thomas and Carolina sign off.

No mention was made during Q&A, etc. regarding launch windows after tomorrow, i.e. after Thanksgiving (November 25 this year in USA). 🇺🇸

[ceauke]

(I don't know how to quote twitter, so I'll just type it out)

From Chris Kemp: "The team diligently worked through issues related to the freezing conditions up in Kodiak tonight, but we ran out of time. We'll try again tomorrow"

[FlattestEarth]

Good webcast, the Astra rep was likeable and had good info.  Did anyone ask about circularization and if there is a 3rd stage?

[Ken the Bin]

New webcast (video id 97qhttuqtB4):

[RocketLover0119]

Looking good!

https://twitter.com/Astra/status/1461888584286232576?s=20

[RocketLover0119]

30 minute delay:

https://twitter.com/Astra/status/1461896178912530442

[Steven Pietrobon]

Webcast has begun. 42 minutes to launch. This gives a launch at 05:15 UTC, but there will be a hold at T-30 minutes. Found frozen moisture in igniter system yesterday.

[Steven Pietrobon]

Static fire test.

[Steven Pietrobon]

T-30 minutes and holding.

[RocketLover0119]

Still holding, however “close to resuming”.

[RocketLover0119]

Count is resuming!

[Steven Pietrobon]

Count has resumed. Launch at 06:04 UTC.

[Steven Pietrobon]

Water deluge test.

[Steven Pietrobon]

T-10 minutes. Go for launch.

[Steven Pietrobon]

Hold at T-8 minutes 38 seconds. Valve stuck open at base of vehicle.

[Steven Pietrobon]

Valve has been recycled which appears to have fixed the problem.

[Steven Pietrobon]

Count has resumed. Launch at 06:16 UTC.

[Steven Pietrobon]

T-6 minutes. Range is go and they are authorised for launch.

[Steven Pietrobon]

T-2 minutes.

[Steven Pietrobon]

Liftoff!

[MATTBLAK]

She flies!

[Steven Pietrobon]

T+1 minute. Past MaxQ.

[Steven Pietrobon]

T+3 minutes.

First stage separation.

[Steven Pietrobon]

T+5 minutes.

[Steven Pietrobon]

T+7 minutes.

[Steven Pietrobon]

Second stage cutoff.

Made it to orbit!

[otter]

Congrats!

[lrk]

Congratulations to Astra on this major milestone! 

[Steven Pietrobon]

Flight path.

Happy Astra crew. Time for Astra to have their own section I think!

[Perchlorate]

Congratulations to the newest orbital rocket!

[ClayJar]

Happy birthday, new orbital rocket!

Congrats, Astra.

[Steven Pietrobon]

NSF wrapping up. Congratulations to Astra on the successful launch!

The payload will remain attached to the second stage, as expected.

[pb2000]

Congrats.

[zubenelgenubi]

Congratulations to Astra and the rest of the launch campaign!

This includes our NSF webcast team and Steven P and his launch thread coverage!

[zubenelgenubi]

The payload will remain attached to the second stage, as expected.

I saw the the two green lights turn on in the rocket cam view.


Do we have a launch time to the second or microsecond?

[RocketLover0119]

Congrats Astra! Awesome to see them succeed at last!

Much thanks to NSF for the stream and the return of the legend Steven to host the thread! 

[Yggdrasill]

Awesome flight. Congratulations to Astra! Hopefully the first of many successful flights!

[Jrcraft]

Flight path.

Happy Astra crew. Time for Astra to have their own section I think!

Yes, It's time for one. Especially after tonight.

[NaN]

A big win for Astra, congratulations to them! The launch looked good. A new orbital launch vehicle has arrived.

[RocketLover0119]

The payload will remain attached to the second stage, as expected.

I saw the the two green lights turn on in the rocket cam view.

Do we have a launch time to the second or microsecond?

Before the hold I heard them say 6:04:00, so I imagine it was on the dot at 6:16:00.

[Jrcraft]

Payload deploy lights went on between T+8:59 and T+9:00.

[zubenelgenubi]

Also noting this is the second of two successful orbital launches today, November 20 UTC.

Gaofen-11 03, at 01:51 thread,
and this launch.

[Bubbinski]

Congratulations Astra!!

A new small satellite launcher has made orbit. And it’s supposed to be capable of responsive launch from multiple sites on short notice. I could see the DoD making use of this.

[tyrred]

Woot woot! Good show. Congratulations to everyone involved. Go Astra!

[cpushack]

Congratulations Astra!!

A new small satellite launcher has made orbit. And it’s supposed to be capable of responsive launch from multiple sites on short notice. I could see the DoD making use of this.

~6 person setup/on-site launch team and everything containerized really helps for making that possible too

[Dmitry_V_home]

It was a long way into orbit! But success comes to the one who goes. My congratulations!

[jdon759]

Congrats!!   

So, now they've achieved orbit, does Astra get its own forum section?

[Bananas_on_Mars]

Congratulations Astra!!

A new small satellite launcher has made orbit. And it’s supposed to be capable of responsive launch from multiple sites on short notice. I could see the DoD making use of this.

~6 person setup/on-site launch team and everything containerized really helps for making that possible too

I think they said their „Red Team“ on site is only 4 people. And they transported the team, the rocket and the ground equipment all on the same C-17.

[Galactic Penguin SST]

49494/2021-108A now tracked in 438 x 507 km x 86.0 deg. orbit.

[edzieba]

In the terminal count, there was an interesting callout from the LD to the FSO, advising them to prepare to issue an 'option command' at T+164 (2m 44s into flight) calling out "an event". Going by the timeline that's just prior to MECO. AFTS is not armed and instead in shadow mode (FSO would not be inhibiting an on-board system, the FTS is fired by ground command) so something to listen out for on the next attempt.

Well, that turned out to be an opaque 'option enabled' callout.

[Star One]

NSF’s archived launch coverage on YT:

[Robotical]

Welcome to the orbital club, Atra! The US now has six orbital launch providers!

[zubenelgenubi]

Before the hold I heard them say 6:04:00, so I imagine it was on the dot at 6:16:00.

Launch 06:16:00 UTC

https://twitter.com/planet4589/status/1461941408475013120

[cpushack]

Congratulations Astra!!

A new small satellite launcher has made orbit. And it’s supposed to be capable of responsive launch from multiple sites on short notice. I could see the DoD making use of this.

~6 person setup/on-site launch team and everything containerized really helps for making that possible too

I think they said their „Red Team“ on site is only 4 people. And they transported the team, the rocket and the ground equipment all on the same C-17.

It is indeed a 6 person team, but it was neat that they could transport all on a C-17, including that team

[RotoSequence]

Welcome to the orbital club, Atra! The US now has six orbital launch providers!

•Astra
•SpaceX
•ULA
•Virgin Orbit
•Northrop Grumman
•Rocket Labs

Is that all of them?

[lrk]

Can someone explain the meaning of the "ignitor sequences" that had to be manually loaded during the terminal countdown? 

[trimeta]

Congratulations Astra!!

A new small satellite launcher has made orbit. And it’s supposed to be capable of responsive launch from multiple sites on short notice. I could see the DoD making use of this.

~6 person setup/on-site launch team and everything containerized really helps for making that possible too

I think they said their „Red Team“ on site is only 4 people. And they transported the team, the rocket and the ground equipment all on the same C-17.

It is indeed a 6 person team, but it was neat that they could transport all on a C-17, including that team

Somehow I thought I heard seven? Red lead, four engineers, one IT person, one safety person. Obviously, that doesn't change the "capable of transporting on a single C-17" calculus.

[EnigmaSCADA]

Can someone explain the meaning of the "ignitor sequences" that had to be manually loaded during the terminal countdown?

I'm interested in this also. Anyone?

Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk

[Scintillant]

Congratulations Astra!!

A new small satellite launcher has made orbit. And it’s supposed to be capable of responsive launch from multiple sites on short notice. I could see the DoD making use of this.

~6 person setup/on-site launch team and everything containerized really helps for making that possible too

I think they said their „Red Team“ on site is only 4 people. And they transported the team, the rocket and the ground equipment all on the same C-17.

It is indeed a 6 person team, but it was neat that they could transport all on a C-17, including that team

Somehow I thought I heard seven? Red lead, four engineers, one IT person, one safety person. Obviously, that doesn't change the "capable of transporting on a single C-17" calculus.

If you're thinking of the RSO, they're range-side so not technically part of the Astra team.

[trimeta]

If you're thinking of the RSO, they're range-side so not technically part of the Astra team.

I went back to the livestream (at around 48:43 in the video), and here's an index of everyone listed as being on the Red Team, along with roles:

Red Lead:
Adam Fritsch

Pad Technicians:
Hill Hudson
Robert Freeman
Eric Larsen
Sam Heershap(?) (I couldn't find this person on LinkedIn to verify the spelling of their last name)

Red Wire (IT):
Eric Steinberg

Safety Lead:
Ryan Hirschfield

It didn't sound like Ryan is also the RSO (Ryan's role was described as "responsible for the safety of overall launch operation events, including personnel compliance with our safety policies and procedures"), but I could be wrong about that.

[Jim]

That would be pad safety vs RSO

[FlattestEarth]

49494/2021-108A now tracked in 438 x 507 km x 86.0 deg. orbit.

Any info on deorbit burn and lower perigee?

[cpushack]

49494/2021-108A now tracked in 438 x 507 km x 86.0 deg. orbit.

Any info on deorbit burn and lower perigee?

Pretty sure the pressure fed Aether engine on the second stage has no restart capability so it will have to demise naturally

[FlattestEarth]

49494/2021-108A now tracked in 438 x 507 km x 86.0 deg. orbit.

Any info on deorbit burn and lower perigee?

Pretty sure the pressure fed Aether engine on the second stage has no restart capability so it will have to demise naturally

From the webcast:

the upper stage will

once it reaches orbit will

be deorbited and burn up in the

atmosphere so we do

consider it very important to be

responsible stewards of space we do not

want to leave any space debris up there

So if there is only natural decay that is misleading

[thirtyone]

Yeah, very curious about deorbit. I heard some pretty sketchy answers on stream which I had trouble believing. I kind of doubt any early space startup has the bandwidth to spend time/mass on developing restart on a S2 this small when they just barely made it to orbit

[thirtyone]

So if there is only natural decay that is misleading

Agreed. Also a bit upset that the orbit was so high, especially if there is no restart (which I strongly suspect will be the case). Couldn't they show that it could get to orbit but not stay in orbit by going into a highly elliptical orbit which could deorbit much sooner? Or is that difficult from a performance perspective?

[brussell]

The US has restart capability. Being pressure fed doesn't change that. They need it for reaching or circularizing high orbits anyway. They went for direct insertion this time to reduce risk.

The gossip is that they did insert in 500km circular orbit and the 438 perigee was due to a deliberate second burn. It's not clear to me why it was not a full deorbit burn. I haven't heard if that was also deliberate or an incomplete burn. It'd be nice if they said something about that publicly because that 438 just doesn't sound nice.

[OneSpeed]

Here is a plot of the LV-0007 mission telemetry.

The webcast provided data updates once every three seconds, so the acceleration has a rather stepped appearance compared to webcasts with more frequent updates.

[SPKirsch]

https://twitter.com/Astra/status/1462783873381593089

Orbit. ✅ Astra successfully completed its first commercial orbital launch for the @SpaceForceDoD late Friday night, November 19, 2021, PST: https://astra.com/news/astra-reaches-orbit #AdAstra

[LouScheffer]

So if there is only natural decay that is misleading

Agreed. [..] Couldn't they show that it could get to orbit but not stay in orbit by going into a highly elliptical orbit which could deorbit much sooner? Or is that difficult from a performance perspective?

The gossip is that they did insert in 500km circular orbit and the 438 perigee was due to a deliberate second burn. It's not clear to me why it was not a full deorbit burn. I haven't heard if that was also deliberate or an incomplete burn. It'd be nice if they said something about that publicly because that 438 just doesn't sound nice.

It may not be entirely Astra's choice.  They had a customer for this mission, which stayed attached to the second stage, meaning if they deorbit the second stage, the payload is lost as well.  The customer may want more time in orbit, or a particular orbit. 

[trimeta]

So if there is only natural decay that is misleading

Agreed. [..] Couldn't they show that it could get to orbit but not stay in orbit by going into a highly elliptical orbit which could deorbit much sooner? Or is that difficult from a performance perspective?

The gossip is that they did insert in 500km circular orbit and the 438 perigee was due to a deliberate second burn. It's not clear to me why it was not a full deorbit burn. I haven't heard if that was also deliberate or an incomplete burn. It'd be nice if they said something about that publicly because that 438 just doesn't sound nice.

It may not be entirely Astra's choice.  They had a customer for this mission, which stayed attached to the second stage, meaning if they deorbit the second stage, the payload is lost as well.  The customer may want more time in orbit, or a particular orbit.

My understanding was that the customer's main goal for this payload was "characterize the launch environment of Rocket 3, so we know what we're buying for future launches." Sticking around in orbit after simulated payload deploy doesn't help with that, and if anything characterizing the deorbit properties would probably be preferred.

[abaddon]

A little LTTP here, a belated congratulations to Astra for reaching orbit!  There’s another rocket company who reached orbit on their fourth attempt…

[LouScheffer]

Here is a plot of the LV-0007 mission telemetry.

The first stage acceleration peaks quite high, at about 8G.  Are smallsats usually rated for this, or will Astra have to throttle down (as most providers do) on commercial missions?  Is there a payload user manual?

[ZachS09]

A little LTTP here, a belated congratulations to Astra for reaching orbit!  There’s another rocket company who reached orbit on their fourth attempt…

Four-leaf clover on Astra’s mission patches for good measure?

[trimeta]

A little LTTP here, a belated congratulations to Astra for reaching orbit!  There’s another rocket company who reached orbit on their fourth attempt…

Four-leaf clover on Astra’s mission patches for good measure?

I think during the webcast some mention was made of "lucky number seven," so they could lean in that direction.

[thirtyone]

So just a follow-up... doesn't look like Astra S2 has come even close to doing anything remotely close to intentional deorbiting? I have serious questions about whether or not they could have had the performance to seriously deorbit the stage, or maybe restarts failed? I don't have any issues with the reality that an early launch is unlikely to have the performance available to deorbit the stage, but I do when they claim that they're going to when they really can't.

NORAD 49494 - ASTRA DUMMY MASS is still at 507 x 443 km.