Watch: US Astra Launch Company Suffers Another Rocket Failure

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The California-based Astra launch vehicle company is reporting a third failed attempt to reach orbit, using Rocket 3.3.

The Rocket 3.3 vehicle was launched at about 22:35 GMT on Saturday, from Pacific Spaceport Complex - Alaska (PSCA) on Kodiak Island. However, instead of going upward, the rocket moved sideways and, following a brief ascent, tumbled down after its engines shut down, according to live coverage from Astra.

"We suffered technical difficulties, but achieved 2.5 minutes of flight data. Every launch, whether successful or not, is an opportunity for us to learn. Our team will study the data and use this information to iterate on our next launch," Astra said on Twitter after the failed Saturday launch.

Reviewing flight data and video, two things are very clear - 1) An engine shut down right after launch 2) Everything that happened next made me incredibly proud of our team. Space may be hard, but like this rocket, we are not giving up. #AdAstra pic.twitter.com/2g3n812EaW

— Chris Kemp (@Kemp) August 29, 2021

Here’s the moment Astra terminated the vehicle: pic.twitter.com/xtVMShRjUH

— IG: @space.terminal (@spaceterminals) August 28, 2021

The day before, Astra aborted the Rocket 3.3 launch attempt. The failed Saturday launch was the company’s third attempt to reach orbit in less than a year. The two previous launches - a Rocket 3.1 launch in September 2020 and a Rocket 3.2 launch in December 2020 - both failed.