Astra aims at the end of August for the next launch with the Space Force satellite

The publicly traded rocket maker Astra will conduct its first launch of the year later this month, with the aim of carrying a Pentagon payload into orbit.

“The Space Force is currently set to perform a demo launch with a window that will begin August 27,” Astra CEO Chris Kemp told CNBC.

The launch is the first of two Astra contracts under the US Space Force’s space testing program, with the latter scheduled for later this year. The launch window will last 16 days, until September 11.

Astra’s Rocket 3 vehicle will take off from the Pacific Spaceport complex on Kodiak Island in Alaska. The payload is a small demonstration satellite for the Space Force.

“We are delighted to partner with Astra on this mission and believe this presents a low cost, mobile and responsive critical launch capability,” Colonel Carlos Quinones, director of the space testing program, said in a statement.

Astra stock rose 12% on Thursday from its previous close of $ 8.25 per share.

Astra shares have fallen 36% since the company closed its SPAC merger and started trading on the Nasdaq. The stock had climbed above $ 15 per share in the days after its debut, but has slipped in recent weeks to trade at close to $ 8 per share.

Asked about his company’s share price, Kemp said he believes “both shareholders and customers will appreciate that we’re on time here” with the upcoming launch of Astra, which the company says would take place this summer.

“We appreciate the patience of shareholders with us as we build and launch rockets so that we can start to start recognizing revenue,” Kemp said.

Based in Alameda, Calif. – on the edge of the San Francisco Bay Area – Astra is completing preparations for the next rocket at its headquarters, Kemp said he plans to ship the launcher to Alaska “in the week or so. next two ”. Kemp noted that the Astra launch team, which consists of a few people, will then “need a week or two in Alaska to get everything set up.”

Astra remains “on track” to complete three launches in total this year, before starting to ramp up production and operations to begin launching on a monthly basis by the end of the year, Kemp said.

He also noted that Astra has “over 50 launches in our backlog,” and more information is expected to be provided when the company releases its second quarter results on August 12.

Astra will also be testing upgrades to its Rocket 3 system during this upcoming launch. The company’s last launch in December hit space, but the rocket landed just short of orbit.

“It really allows our team to check out a lot of upgrades to our rocket and our launch system,” Kemp said.

While the previous launch “exceeded our expectations”, it also taught Astra multiple ways to improve its rocket. One was that there was fuel left in the upper and lower stages of the rocket tank, which is why Astra upgraded the thruster management system. The company also lengthened the rocket slightly, adding five feet in total, and streamlined the rocket’s top stage avionics to use only one motherboard.

“It consolidates a lot of the first stage avionics, so we have a lot more mass available for the payload,” Kemp said.

“If this flight works, we’ll be happy and if it doesn’t, we’ll learn a lot,” Kemp added.