The launch of Rocket 3.2 with an experimental vehicle in the interests of the U.S. Space Force has been postponed until November 5, the developer company Astra Space.
The reason is the unfinished scheduled maintenance work at the Pacific Space Complex on Kodiak Island (Alaska), where the launch is planned.
This should be the second attempt by Astra Space to launch the U.S. Space Force vehicle into orbit. At the end of August, the launch failed because of engine problems during the flight.
U.S. space startup Astra Space, which began testing its light launch vehicles in 2018, has yet to make a single fully successful launch. All of them have been either unsuccessful or partially successful.
The Rocket 3.2 launcher is a two-stage rocket with five engines. It is to carry up to 150 kg of payload into a 500-kilometer sun-synchronous orbit. The rocket is only 11.6 meters long and can be transported in a container to any launch pad.
According to Chris Kemp, the company's CEO, the rocket's high fuel efficiency may allow Astra to take a serious competitive position in the space launch market. According to the company, its rocket will be the simplest and most technologically advanced launch vehicle in the world. The cost of one launch is about $2.5 million. For comparison, the launch of Falcon 9 heavy rocket of company SpaceX costs more than $60 million.
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