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Yup. Am still not sold. Plenty of competition in the small launcher market. Building a mega-constellation (one of their planned offerings) with small daily launches does not seem that efficient. The big-hoopla about hiring a senior Apple Engineer notwithstanding.When I read their SPAC presentation (linked above), I was scoffing. But then I started reading various Ars articles:
At Astra, failure is an option
Astra finally launches its first orbital rocket, and it flew for 30 seconds
Astra pitches larger rocket, suborbital cargo-delivery plan to Air Force
Astra set up a rocket launch with five people and came within seconds of orbit
They haven't done their third launch yet, but they might just get there.
I still think this is a stretch, but the public seems intent on throwing money onto space companies these days, so what do I know?
Yup. Am still not sold. Plenty of competition in the small launcher market. Building a mega-constellation (one of their planned offerings) with small daily launches does not seem that efficient. The big-hoopla about hiring a senior Apple Engineer notwithstanding.
But hey, HOL is relatively cheap right now so I will soon own a microscopic piece of a space start-up!
Soon as the market opens. Just a bit, not 4 figures.So you're going to buy HOL?
That is what I am wondering about. That decision hinges on a number of factors for a satellite operator, like cost of launch V overall cost of the mission/service/operation (if the sat costs 10x the launch cost you may not care), proven reliability of launch platform (minimize risk or loss of sat, although if you want to launch 1000s you may not care as much), how close you need to stick to an operational schedule, etc.So i think i saw they are currently charging $2.5M for a launch of 150kg, meanwhile SpaceX charges $1M for a 200kg rideshare which of course has limited launch dates and orbits to choose from.
Will small sats really be willing/need to pay extra for that flexibility?
Will small sats really be willing/need to pay extra for that flexibility?
But one Starship launch could take care of an entire cube-sat constellation...
If you look back at the Earth 50 years from now, or 100 years from now, there is a layer right above our atmosphere helping improve life on Earth. It’s an intelligent dust of connectivity that provides a level of capability here on the planet to better understand our resources, like really incredible, high-fidelity weather forecasting. Where are we hurting our coral reefs? What’s happening with methane?
Lots of, words there.I cannot believe 100 years from now, looking back at Earth, there isn’t this beautiful protective sphere. And you can call that Astra. So, we’re building that. How do you build that? Is that a monopoly? No, it’s a platform, and that platform will be driven by standards and competition and global collaboration. Astra is building that platform, but it’s going to take decades. This transaction gives us the resources we need to begin that journey.
They are aiming for the gaps that bigger vehicles don't fill in constellations. That seems rather dangerous: easily taken out by a number of competitors.
All right, you make a good case for Astra.
Can you make one against them?![]()