INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
The Alameda, California-based company, which was delisted from Nasdaq in June 2024 after its shares collapsed, is now targeting the first
test flight of Rocket 4 in 2026
Astra's arrangement with the Defense Innovation Unit includes two milestones: one suborbital (point-to-point) and the other orbital, with
the option to launch from a location outside the United States, as Astra is developing a mobile launcher
Chris Kemp, Astra's co-founder and CEO, told Space News the orbital launch will likely originate from Australia
Astra's first launches with the new-retired Rocket 3 vehicle were based in Alaska and Florida.The easiest way to keep up with Eric Berger's
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Up!The Army has a catchy name for its newest weapon
The Long Range Hypersonic Weapon has a new name: Dark Eagle
The US Army announced the popular name for the service's quick strike missile this week
velocity, accuracy, maneuverability, survivability, and versatility," the Army said in a press release
with little or no warning via a hypersonic glide vehicle capable of maneuvering in the upper atmosphere after an initial launch with a
The hypersonic weapon's ability to overcome an adversary's air and missile defenses is embodied in the word "dark" in Dark Eagle, the Army
The Army tested the hypersonic weapon's "all-up round" during a missile launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida, in December
The test was delayed more than a year due to unspecified issues
The Army appears to be preparing for another Dark Eagle test from Florida's Space Coast as soon as Friday, according to airspace and
maritime warning notices in the Atlantic Ocean
(submitted by EllPeaTea)Northrop's niche with Minotaur
Ars mentioned in last week's Rocket Report that Northrop Grumman's Minotaur IV rocket launched April 16 with a classified payload for the
National Reconnaissance Office
This was the first Minotaur IV launch in nearly five years and the first orbital Minotaur launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base,
The low-volume Minotaur IV uses solid rocket motors from the Air Force's stockpile of retired Peacekeeper ballistic missiles, turning part
of a weapon of mass destruction into, in this case, a tool to support the US government's spy satellite agency
The Minotaur IV's lift capability fits neatly between the capacity of smaller commercial rockets, like Firefly's Alpha or Rocket Lab's
Electron, and larger rockets like SpaceX's Falcon 9
The most recent Minotaur IV launch contract cost the Space Force roughly $30 million, more than a mission with Firefly but less than a
dedicated ride on a Falcon 9.b7708743de5a5cab81054232d4ecdabe
