Astra

Astra (USA, founded 2016) is a launch vehicle company focused on ultra-lean development cycles and high launch cadence for small satellites. Astra’s Rocket 3 series reached orbit for the first time in 2021, making it one of the fastest companies to achieve orbital launch (just ~5 years from founding). The company emphasizes simplicity and mass-producibility in its rockets, aiming to eventually launch dozens of times per year from various locations. Though it has experienced some launch failures, Astra continues to iterate quickly on its designs. Beyond launch, the company has started offering turnkey satellite platforms (through an acquisition of Apollo Fusion’s propulsion tech) to expand into spacecraft hardware. Astra’s long-term vision is to provide daily access to space, dramatically reducing the cost and wait times for orbital launches.