The crash happened about 10 minutes after a successful launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida.
Astra Space ‘s mission to send NASA’s small storm-tracking satellites into orbit failed because the rocket’s second-stage engine shut down prematurely.
The crash happened about 10 minutes after a successful launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida.
“We had a nominal flight in the first stage. But the second stage engine shut down too early and we didn’t deliver the payload into orbit,” Astra official Amanda Durk Frye told livestream.
The first of six
The rocket carried two small satellites designed by MIT’s Lincoln Laboratory to measure humidity and precipitation in tropical storm systems.
They were the first of six NASA satellites that Astra plans to launch in the future.
This is Astra’s second failed mission this year.
The company has so far made seven attempts to reach orbit, including test missions, two of which were successful, the first in November last year and the second in March.
NASA is partnering with new rocket companies to put lower-cost scientific payloads into orbit to boost rocket industry development.
