Astra stock drops after NASA mission fails mid-launch

Shares of rocket builder Astra fell sharply in trading on Thursday after the company's latest mission failed to reach orbit.

Konoly Konoly
Feb 11, 2022 - 02:33
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Astra stock drops after NASA mission fails mid-launch

Shares of rocket builder Astra fell sharply Thursday, after the company's latest mission failed to reach orbit.

Astra's stock fell 5% from its previous close of $5.29 a share before being halted for volatility.

The company confirmed there was an issue mid-flight that prevented the rocket from delivering a set four cube satellites to orbit on a NASA-funded mission.

"I'm deeply sorry we were not able to deliver our customer's payloads. I'm with the team looking at data, and we will provide more info as soon as we can," Astra CEO Chris Kemp said in a tweet.

The New York Stock Exchange halted the stock at 3:05 p.m. ET, as the upper stage of the rocket appeared to be tumbling out of control on the company's webcast of the launch.

The NASA mission marked Astra's first launch from Florida's Cape Canaveral. The company reached orbit for the first time three months ago with its LV0007 rocket, launched from Kodiak, Alaska.