WASHINGTON
Two small NASA satellites that were supposed to study the development of hurricanes failed to enter orbit on June 12, when their Astra rocket was shut down before reaching the required altitude, the US space agency said.
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“After a nominal first-flight flight, the upper stage of the rocket shut down early and failed to deliver TROPICS CubeSats into orbit,” said NASA’s Twitter launch program.
In a post on its website before the launch, NASA described TROPICS CubeSats as a constellation of six shoebox-sized satellites that will “study the formation and development of tropical cyclones by making more frequent observations than current satellites.” . “
Astra received a $ 7.95 million contract from NASA in February 2021 for three launches, each with a pair of TROPICS devices on board.
Hoping to become a key player in the market for small satellite launches, Astra promises more frequent launches with more flexibility than companies using larger rockets, such as SpaceX and Arianespace.
But the launch company is facing recurring problems with its characteristic two-stage rocket, which fails to reach orbit.
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In February, during another NASA CubeSat mission, the second phase of the Astra failed to reach orbit due to a problem with the release of shells that cover the satellites during launch.
“We are sorry that we were unable to deliver the first two TROPICS satellites,” Astra CEO Chris Kemp tweeted on Sunday.
“Nothing is more important to our team than the trust of our customers and the successful delivery of other TROPICS satellites.”
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