Astra Experiences Failure on ELaNa 41 mission

Credit: Astra/John Kraus

On Thursday, February 10 at 3:00pm ET (21:00 UTC), Astra launched the ELaNA 41 mission for NASA atop the Rocket 3.3 LV0008 rocket from Space launch Complex 46 from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Launch was planned for Saturday, but due to a range equipment failure, the attempt was scrubbed. There was another scrub on Monday due to a "minor telemetry issue". This was Astra's first launch from Cape Canaveral. There was an anomaly at stage separation preventing the payloads from getting to orbit. The first time Astra reached orbit was on November 19, 2021, with the Rocket 3.3 LV0007 rocket from Kodiak, Alaska. The reason Astra has multiple launch pads is so they can launch every day within a few years. Astra already plans to launch from two more launch pads, another launch pad at Kodiak and Omelek Island. ELaNa 41 is part of NASA's Venture Class Launch Services (VCLS) made to provide launch services to NASA and universities for small satellites. This was the first launch under the VCLS 2 contract. The 4 payloads for ELaNa 41 were:

BAMA-1 (University of Alabama) - A technology demonstration with a drag sail module to demonstrate quick reentry to diminish on-orbit debris.

INCA (New Mexico State University) - A scientific investigation studying the latitude and time dependencies of the neutron spectrum in LEO to improve current space weather models.

QubeSat (University of California) - A technology demonstration studying the effects of space conditions on quantum gyroscopes using nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamond.

R5-S1 (NASA Johnson Space Center) - A demonstration intended to demonstrate a fast and cost-effective way of building small satellites while demonstrating technologies for in-space inspections making crewed spaceflight safer.

This will be the 12th orbital attempt of 2022, the third launch of Rocket 3.3, and the 5th Astra orbital attempt.