Another SPAC space is coming: Astra

Galactic Virgo (NYSE: SPCE).

Acquisition of stable routesof (NASDAQ: SRAC) Momentus.

Acquisition of New Providenceof (NASDAQ: NPA) AST SpaceMobile.

And soon, space investors will have a choice of a fourth pure play “space company” when the Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC) Holicity (NASDAQ: HOL) brings the small Astra rocket launcher to the public in a reverse merger IPO sponsored by SPAC.

Holicity broke the news on Tuesday, saying it has entered into a “definitive deal” to acquire Astra and bring the startup space launch provider to the public in Q2 2021 with “implied pro forma enterprise value … d ‘about $ 2.1 billion. ”

Astra had a very successful space launch in December when its Rocket 3.2 launcher was launched from the Pacific Spaceport complex in Kodiak, Alaska. The test flight was Astra’s third attempt, preceded by a failed rocket before launch in March (during a refueling test) and a second that ended after launch in September when it drifted. The third time was (almost) the charm, however, as the December test flight successfully reached its target altitude of 236 miles (380 kilometers), simply failing to reach orbital speed and therefore falling back out of its orbit.

Astra is already working on its next launch and “identifies … how to further improve vehicle performance”. The company says it has already booked 50 launches by future customers, worth $ 150 million in future revenue.

The merger with Holicity will provide Astra with additional funds to fund the company’s efforts to become a reliable provider of space launch services for small satellites. In Tuesday’s press release, Holicity said that between the cash she raised from her own IPO and the $ 200 million she expects to raise through a private equity deal in public equities (PIPE), Astra is expected to emerge in public markets with $ 500 million in the bank.

Astra plans to list on Nasdaq under the symbol ASTR.