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The third launch of the two-stage Astra launch vehicle ended in failure. Things didn’t go according to plan from the start

American rocket startup Astra Space, participating in the Pentagon’s space program, has attempted another test launch of its two-stage Astra LV0006 launch vehicle. Alas, it turned out to be unsuccessful, and everything did not go according to plan from the very beginning.

The third launch of the two-stage Astra launch vehicle ended in failure.  Things didn’t go according to plan from the start

The Astra LV0006 was launched on Kodiak Island (Alaska) at 6:35 am local time. In just a second, one of the engines stopped, which caused the rocket to move strongly to the side. Nevertheless, the thrust of the remaining engines was sufficient for the Astra LV0006 to continue to climb up to about 50 kilometers. After 2 minutes and 28 seconds, the flight command issued a command to shut off all engines for safety reasons. The Astra 3.3 series rockets, like the tested LV0006, are designed to launch small satellites into orbit, but this time they were not on board – only a test load simulating the mass of satellites.

The third launch of the two-stage Astra launch vehicle ended in failure.  Things didn't go according to plan from the start

Astra chief executive Chris Kemp said that while the flight failed, it collected a lot of useful data. “We have the seventh serial number, which is currently in production, and we will apply to it what we learned here, make all the changes to the rocket, and soon we will take off again.”, – he said.

This was the third launch of the Astra rocket, but the first since the company went public. Both previous launches took place in the past year and were also unsuccessful.

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