On November 20 at 06:16 UTC, an Astra Rocket 3.3 launched from the Pacific Spaceport Complex in Kodiak Alaska for the LV0007 mission. This mission was Astra’s fourth attempt to place a dummy payload from the U.S. Space Force into polar orbit. A dummy payload is something simple, usually a metal cylinder or a tank of water with mass properties like a real satellite. 

Two minutes fifty seconds after launch, the first stage shut down and separated. Fifteen seconds later, the second stage with its unusual two-lobe design ignited. About eight and a half minutes after the launch, the second stage engine shut down as a safe orbit was established. This made Astra the latest private company to successfully put something into orbit and the first to do so only five years after the company founding. However, there was no payload yeet. Instead, the flight computer sent a simulated payload deployment signal; the success of that action was indicated by a pair of green lights mounted on the dummy payload.

Rocket 3’s first real satellites will be NASA’s TROPICS mission sometime next year from Florida. That mission will actually be three dedicated launches on Rocket 3 vehicles for the TROPICS constellation, which need to go into widely spread orbits that its not practical to get to using just one rocket.

More Information

LV0007 Media Kit (Astra)

NASA TROPICS: Astra’s First Earth Science Mission (Astra)

BlackSky constellation info page (Gunter’s Space Page)

Launch video