Astra Space’s mission to send NASA’s small satellites to observe the weather in orbit failed on Sunday after a second-stage accelerator engine stopped early in space, according to a live broadcast by the mission’s company.
The failure occurred approximately 10 minutes after the successful launch of the 3.3 Astra rocket from the launch site of the Cape Canaveral space station in Florida.
“We had a nominal first-class flight. However, the upper-stage engine shut down early and we didn’t deliver our payload into orbit,” said Astra live commentator Amanda Dirk Fry.
We had a nominal flight in the first stage. The upper stage was shut down early and we did not deliver the payload into orbit. We shared our regrets with @NASA and the payload team. More information will be provided once we have completed a full review of the data.
– Astra (@Astra) June 12, 2022
Although today’s launch with @Astra did not go according to plan, the mission offered a great opportunity for new scientific and launch opportunities.
– Thomas Zurbuchen (@Dr_ThomasZ) June 12, 2022
(Report by Joey Roulette; Edited by Lisa Shumaker)
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