The key benefit of the new launch vehicle developed by Astro Space
Astra Space, Inc. (ALTR), a space launch company, introduced a new launch vehicle last week. It has greater qualities, yet it still retains Astra’s key commercial edge. “Rocket 4.0” is the name of the new Astra rocket. At a launch cost of $3.95 million, it can deliver 300 kg of cargo into low-Earth orbit.
As a result, the new rocket can launch a satellite or a constellation of nanosatellites twice the mass of the rocket version 3.0 into orbit. Meanwhile, the launch price has only risen by 1.6 times. The rocket perfectly fits the promised needs of Astra Space’s segment in the space launch market. The company thinks that the average weight of satellites that will be ordered in the next ten years will be 180 kg.
This means that Astrospace is focusing its efforts on the biggest possible market, which has a lot of potential clients in many different countries.
At the same time, the new rocket maintains the Astra Space offer’s major edge. The Rocket 4.0 is just 19.4 meters long and 1.8 meters wide when fully built. The rocket is two-stage and can be carried anywhere on the globe in a conventional maritime shipping container since it is divided into two halves that are undocked.
The launch table is likewise small, as is the Astra Space refueling mast. In reality, this is the only rocket that can be ordered “with home delivery,” meaning that it will launch from the most advantageous geographical location. Furthermore, the Rocket 4.0 launch and control crew has been reduced from 21 to 8 personnel, substantially lowering the expense of business visits. The launch table has the capability of launching once each day.
The adoption of a new engine in the initial stage of Rocket 4.0 is a promising indicator. It is almost twice as powerful as the previous ones, allowing the new rocket to require just two first-stage engines rather than the five used by Rocket 3.3. Astra Space does not provide technical information. Even though the engine runs on the same fuel (kerosene), it already has a turbopump instead of a battery-powered electric pump, which is more reliable and efficient.
