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Rocket 3
Rocket 3.0 being prepared to launch.
Function
Orbital launch vehicle
Manufacturer
Astra
Country of origin
United States
Cost per launch
US$2.5 million [1][2]
Size
Height
11.6 m (38 ft)
Capacity
Payload to SSO
Altitude
500 km (310 mi)
Mass
20–50 kg (44–110 lb) [3]
Associated rockets
Comparable
Electron, Pegasus
Launch history
Status
Retired
Launch sites
PSCA, CCSFS SLC-46
Total launches
9 (+1 rocket destroyed before launch)
Success(es)
2
Failure(s)
7 (+1 rocket destroyed before launch)
First stage
Powered by
5 Delphin
Maximum thrust
c. 32,500 lbf (145 kN) [4]
Propellant
Kerosene/LOX
Second stage
Engines
1 Aether
Thrust
740 lbf (3,300 N) vacuum [4]
Propellant
Kerosene/LOX
[edit on Wikidata]
Rocket 1, Rocket 2, and Rocket 3 were a series of small-lift space launch vehicles designed, manufactured, and operated by American company Astra (formerly Ventions). The rockets were designed to be manufactured at minimal cost, employing very simple materials and techniques. They were also designed to be launched by a very small team, and be transported from the factory to the launch pad in standard shipping containers. Rocket 1 was test vehicle made up of a booster equipped with five Delphin electric-pump-fed rocket engines, and a mass simulator meant to occupy the place of a second stage. Rocket 2 was a prototype similar to Rocket 1. Rocket 3 was a launch vehicle which added a pressure-fed second stage to the Delphin-powered booster. Its definitive variant, Rocket 3.3, featured a lengthened booster, and delivered satellites to orbit.
The Rocket series was designed as a simple, low-cost space launch vehicle. No engine on the rocket made use of turbomachinery and the rocket's construction was of welded sheet aluminium as opposed to lightweight machined panels. It was also physically small, with the longest variant, Rocket 3.3, 11.6 m (38 ft) in height.
Astra's Rocket series was developed with experience gained from the company's work on the SALVO air-launched launch vehicle, for which the Delphin rocket engine was designed. Its career was marked by several series of failures; of 10 launch campaigns, only 2 missions were successfully completed. After the failure of Rocket 3.3 LV0010, production and operation of the launcher was cancelled in favour of a new rocket, Rocket 4.
^Sheetz, Michael (16 June 2020). "Rocket startup Astra trying for an orbital launch again in July, renewing fundraising efforts". CNBC. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
^Heater, Brian. "Rocket startup Astra emerges from stealth, aims to launch for as little as $1M per flight". TechCrunch. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
^"NASA LSP Fact Sheet for Venture Class" (PDF). May 2021.
^ ab"Astra Media Kit LV0006" (PDF). 28 August 2021.
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