Astra just delivered our first customer payloads into Earth orbit! I am so proud of the unwavering commitment of our incredible team. Thank you to our customers, shareholders, partners, and to @FAANews for helping us achieve this important milestone. #AdAstra@SpaceflightInc
@blueorigin Having watched one of our own rockets explode on the pad, I know how difficult a day this is for the team. Glad everyone is safe. The hardest lessons in rocketry are rarely learned from successes. Wishing the Blue Origin team a quick recovery and clear path back to the pad.
@NASASpaceflight@StephenClark1 Days like this are a reminder that access to space remains one of the hardest engineering challenges humanity has ever undertaken. Hope everyone is safe, learns and returns to the pad soon. Respect to everyone building rockets.
We welcome the competition, @Peter_J_Beck.
100+ engines delivered last year, 100% on-orbit reliability — @Astra is leading in propulsion.
Next up: returning to the pad. Rocket 4 is coming…
@planet4589@blueorigin@AST_SpaceMobile Agreed. unfortunately. It at 154×494 km @ 36.1°. Stowed, drag accel ≈ EP thrust accel — closer race than it looks. But the orbit has days and EP needs weeks to raise perigee meaningfully. Difficult to escape a 154 km hole. Watching for @planet4589’s next TLE.
What Report? Here are the facts: When we bought Apollo Fusion, a single engine had flown, but had not yet ignited on orbit. After buying the company, we sold hundreds of engines and delivered 100 in 9 months last year. 100% of Astra satellite engines that are in orbit are operational. This is a great product designed and manufactured by a great team, and we have everyone we need to make the product even better, which we are actively doing.