Even though it can look rather impossible at times, the truth is that human beings always stand a chance at becoming better. This growth is further allowed to materialize across an expansive radius, therefore consistently helping us get to a more complete of ourselves. Now, as you would expect, such a dynamic brings some sensational by-products into the fold. Considering these by-products tend to mirror the human growth trajectory, each one of them puts up a better performance than its predecessor. While the said system has worked like a charm for years, it did go through one major modification when technology turned up on the scene. Following technology’s arrival, all our subsequent ideas had one common backdrop, and notably enough, it was due to a very genuine reason. You see, the incentive for getting the creation involved was quite apparent in what it was achieving on a day-to-day basis. For instance, before technology, a concept like space travel was laughed upon by the masses, but today, this exact concept boasts a multi-billion dollar backing. In fact, technology didn’t just construct a full-fledged space industry, but it also made sure to nurture the sector’s core over time, taking it closer and closer to a reality where we are now actively thinking about populating a whole new planet. However, the said goal cannot be achieved if we don’t address certain issues around our space methodology, and the said concern looks only more serious after Astra’s failed launch.
Space startup, Astra is officially off to a bad start, as the company’s first ever commercial mission failed to complete its given assignment. Tasked with the launch of NASA’s ELaNa 41 (Educational Launch of Nanosatellites), the mission saw Rocket 3.3’s second stage booster fly out of control following the launch, resulting in extensive payload damage. Talk about the payload, three cubesats on the flight were reportedly from universities that planned on using them for drag sails experiment, space weather modeling, and quantum gyroscopes. The fourth and last cubesat, however, was a NASA payload intentioned to discover quick and low-cost methods for building different cubesats.
“Missions like these are critical for developing new launch vehicles in this growing commercial sector,” said Hamilton Fernandez, mission manager at NASA’s Launch Services Program. “The Astra team demonstrated dedication to supporting NASA’s mission. The lessons learned will benefit them and the agency going forward.”
As of now, Astra is still in the process of reviewing data related to the incident. However, whatever the reason might be, it does put Astra at a disadvantage in front of major competitors like SpaceX, Rocket Lab, and Blue Origin etc.