When Astra’s Rocket 3.0 blew up on the Alaska Pacific Spaceport Complex on Kodiak Island in March 2020, Astra CEO Chris Kemp told news media at the time that the rocket “suffered an anomaly following an otherwise successful day of testing in Kodiak in preparation for a launch this week.”1 Kemp said that the company would not be attempting a launch after that week, and that it would “wait until conditions with coronavirus improve before making another attempt.”
Apparently, in the world view of Astra, a publicly traded space company wannabe, “anomaly” means that your rocket exploded in a violent, giant fireball during a test fueling and “wait until conditions with coronavirus improve” means “we can’t find a piece of our rocket bigger than a dish towel.”
Things haven’t gotten any better for Astra since. After going public in July 2021 at a $2.1 billion valuation, raising nearly $500 million on its premise of ultra-low-cost launch plans. Those plans failed to materialize. There were “anomalies.” After months of burning cash, Astra’s board of directors quietly accepted a take-private deal from Chris Kemp and Astra CTO Adam London at a stock price of just $0.50 per share. Just for reference, shortly after Astra went public in January 2021, the share price peaked at over $200 per share. Must be another “anomaly”?
Or maybe this is just a metaphor for the future financial success of the white elephant that is the Alaska Pacific Spaceport Complex. Or a metaphor for the Alaska’s economy.
Whatever, the State of Alaska recently granted a five year extension of the lease for the site, keeping it operational – for a given definition of “operational” – while the State tries to decide whether to grant a new 30 year lease.
Think of it as an opportunity to experience another “anomaly.”
1 Don’t confuse the Astra explosion with one ten years ago that left the launch complex in a pile of rubble. Or the 2023 “anomaly” when ABL Space Systems RS1 rocket exploded seconds after launch. Although you might discern a pattern.
Wickersham's Conscience 
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