KMXT 100.1 FM Public Radio in Kodiak, Alaska
This week, Kodiak could see another rocket attempt to make orbit from the Pacific Spaceport launch complex near Pasagshak (puh-SAG-SHACK). KMXT’s Jared Griffin has this report on the scheduled launch by California aerospace company Astra.
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Astra says they are approaching space a little differently.
“We believe in achieving scale by making a relatively small launch vehicle that is very inexpensive to produce. Our objective is daily space delivery.”
That’s Chris Kemp, the co-founder and CEO of Astra. He says the small rocket that will be launched this coming week in Kodiak has its advantages.
“We are keeping the rocket small so that we can focus on the small satellites. At the very largest scale, we hope to deliver one satellite to mega constellation being developed.”
The rocket itself is 38 feet long and designed to hold 25kg (or 55 pounds) of payload, but no payload will be on the test flight this week.
Mega-constellation. That’s the term used for a huge assortment of satellites in low orbit who work together to provide internet access all over the world. This is an alternative to terrestrial broadband and may be more reliable and faster for rural populations, including remote Alaska, according to the Department of Defense.
But a concern among local rocket launch critics is emissions, especially emissions that get into ocean waters.
As Adam London, Astra CTO explains, the emission footprint of this rocket is relatively small.
“Most of the rockets, in fact all of the rockets, launched before ours in Kodiak are solid propellants. So they have in their exhaust aluminum and various other things. Our exhaust is primarily water, some carbon dioxide and various small chemicals. From an emission perspective, we are quite a bit more benign than other rockets that have traditionally been launched from Kodiak.”
Kemp: “You can also think about it in terms of an airplane. If a 737 flies over, the exhaust from jet engines typically contribute more hydrocarbons to the atmosphere than our rocket. The rocket stays over Alaska for a short period of time before it heads down range. We like to say, if you planted a tree, during every one of our launches, you would offset the CO2 from our launch.”
Astra’s objective this week is to achieve first-stage separation so that the rocket can achieve orbit and release a payload. But they are also here to learn.
“Pretty much everything we learn is the additional upside. We ‘ll be delighted if that upper stage lights, and teaches us something so that our next flight can be more successful.”
As Kemp noted in the press briefing:
“We don’t intend to hit a hole in one here. It’s a par 3 course.”
Earlier this year, Astra attempted a launch as part of the Defense department’s DARPA challenge. The launch into orbit failed due to some anomalies, but Astra said they made some hardware and software changes, including valves that had failed due to overpressurization.
Fixing those problems during COVID-19, though, was a challenge. They had to furlough employees, confronted disruptions in their supply chain of over 1,000 vendors.
“The DOD said we were a company important to national security (in San Francisco with Amazon).”
In Kodiak, Astra brought up a smaller crew than usual. For previous launches, they had up to thirty launch staff; this time, only 6.
Mark Lester, CEO of Alaska Aerospace Corporation, which runs the Kodiak launch complex, explained that for past launches, 75% of the staff were from out of state. As launches are increasing, Lester says 75% of the launch staff is now from Kodiak; 90% from Alaska.
Staff brought to the island for the launch have all tested negative for COVID-19, and as part of their mitigation plan with the state, the staff are wearing masks, implementing social distancing, and increasing cleaning procedures.
The launch is scheduled to take place between Sunday, August 2nd and the 7th, between 6:00 pm and 8:00 pm local time. Weather dependent, of course.
“The one thing that is true about Kodiak weather is that it is changing quickly. And so the fact that it doesn’t look good today is a good sign. Better by Sunday. We’ll be watching that closely across the week, as to maximize our days for a clean window.”
Astra will not be providing a live stream of the launch, but you can follow them on Twitter for live updates.
