Rocket 4 Launch Vehicle Order Awarded to Astra by US Space Force
The US Space Force has awarded the launch order for its Rocket 4 launch vehicle to Astra Space through the USSF Orbital Services Program (OSP)-4 contract.
"The Ursa Major-Astra partnership marks an important industry milestone in outsourcing propulsion to unlock growth and innovation for launch providers and their customers."
Joe Laurienti, founder and CEO of Ursa Major.
"The Space Force deliberately structured the OSP-4 contract to leverage emerging launch solutions for mission partners like the DoD Space Test Program,” said Lt. Col. Justin Beltz, chief of Space Systems Command’s Small Launch and Targets Division. “Today’s award reflects the tremendous promise industry is bringing to the table with systems like Rocket 4. We look forward to working with Astra to make this launch a success.”
The STP-S29B mission is a Category 2 Mission Assurance launch, which will entail substantial efforts from Astra in tandem with the Government team and its independent mission assurance contractors to support a mission designed for success.
“STP-S29B demands a higher level of mission assurance than previous Astra launches and therefore represents a significant increase in Astra’s coordination with the Space Force to perform a launch designed for mission success,” said Dr. Thomas Williams, senior director of Federal Sales at Astra. “Astra’s ability to compete for this mission was based on the tremendous work that our team has done to design a repeatably reliable Rocket 4 and our previous experience successfully delivering multi-manifest missions to their desired orbits.”
Rocket 4 Launch Vehicle Upper Stage to be Powered by Hadley Engines
Astra has signed an agreement with Ursa Major to support the Rocket 4 launch vehicle. Under the agreement, Ursa Major will provide "Hadley" engines for the upper stage of Astra's Launch System 2 on its newly architected, higher-capacity Rocket 4 launch vehicle. Launch System 2 is designed for customers that need affordable, frequent, and reliable orbital launch, deploying spacecraft directly into operational orbits.
"The Ursa Major-Astra partnership marks an important industry milestone in outsourcing propulsion to unlock growth and innovation for launch providers and their customers," said Joe Laurienti, founder and CEO of Ursa Major. "We're excited to be a part of Astra's Launch System 2 and the company's next chapter of success."
Launch System 2's upper stage will use the vacuum variant of Hadley, an oxygen-rich staged combustion (ORSC) engine fueled by liquid kerosene. The vacuum variant of Hadley provides 6,500 pounds of thrust, compared to Hadley's sea-level configuration, which provides 5,000 pounds of thrust. To enable longer missions, Hadley features an ignition system capable of multiple restarts.
Reliable rocket propulsion is critical to maintaining the space supply chain and growing the space industry. Ursa Major focuses solely on propulsion to lower the cost and risks of the most expensive, time-consuming, and risky aspect of space launch. Ursa Major's flexible rocket engines can be used for various missions, from air launch to hypersonic flight and on-orbit missions.
(Source: Astra and Ursa Major news releases. Images provided)