Vyacheslav Ermolin, December 16, 2020
Mission:
Test the launch vehicle in orbital launch. Unknown payload. The purpose of the test is to enter orbit. Astra's new Rocket 3 launch vehicle.
Reasons for failure:
It was not possible to put the satellite in the rocket head into orbit (if it was there). The carrier did not reach the speed (7.2 km / s instead of the required 7.68 km / s). 21 minutes after launch, the spacecraft crashed into the Pacific Ocean.
The preliminary reason for the failure was named “not ideal fuel mixture for the 2nd stage engine”. Astra said that it is not possible to calculate and test such nuances on the ground and it can only be found out in practice. The company said that they are confident they can fix this and try to withdraw the payload as early as next year. This does not require any hardware or software changes, only a few parameters need to be changed.
Link to high quality image.
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Received several color photographs of the Earth from space. They promise to repeat the "approach to the projectile" early next year. Good luck to them!
