On March 15 at 16:22 UTC, an Astra Rocket 3.3 launched the Spaceflight Astra-1 mission into Sun-synchronous orbit from the Pacific Spaceport Complex in Kodiak, Alaska. Onboard were two payloads: one technology demonstrator for a hosted payload satellite that remained attached to the second stage of the rocket and a 1-unit CubeSat from the Portland Aerospace Society in Oregon.

This mission, called LV009 by Astra, represented their first customer payloads successfully deployed into orbit. Their first successful orbital launch last year carried a mass simulator, and their first customer orbital launch last month failed because of a fairing separation error.

This mission was launched from Kodiak because of the orbit required. Rocket 3.3 can launch from many launch pads around the world because it and its launch pad are designed to fit inside standard intermodal containers. So far they have launched mainly from Kodiak, Alaska, because of its remote location and access to high inclination orbits. They started launching from Florida last month because of that mission’s inclination orbit and will continue to launch from Florida for NASA’s TROPICS mission soon on their manifest.

More Information

PDF: LV009 press kit (Astra)