The company did not explain immediately the reason for the abort at
The launch window stretches to
"We are going to stand down today to troubleshoot the abort," a company official said on the livestream. "There's plenty of time for us to try again."
The Space Force awarded Astra a contract, announced
"We need this ... contract to continue to introduce speed, agility and flexibility into the launch enterprise and continue to cultivate a resilient and affordable launch market." Lt. Col.
The launch, the company's third, will use Astra's Rocket 3.3.
The new version of the rocket can carry more fuel and go farther than the last rocket that was launched in December.
The company, which is publicly traded, acknowledged during an
"Maximizing our learning requires us to make advances and take appropriate technical risks," Astra founder and CEO
The company didn't release details about the payload, except to say that it will contain sensors that will monitor conditions during launch for future Space Force missions.
Astra's rocket is relatively small at just over 38 feet, compared to
Copyright 2021 United Press International, Inc. (UPI). Any reproduction, republication, redistribution and/or modification of any UPI content is expressly prohibited without UPI's prior written consent., source