Another private company to launch rockets from Space Coast in 2022

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - SpaceX who? Now, there’s another player in town. Astra Space Inc. is yet another private company launching from the Space Coast. It’s a clear sign that the space industry is booming. 

Just one month after its successful commercial launch for the Space Force, Astra Space Inc. announced it’s coming to Cape Canaveral. 

"We can service more customers, more launches, more inclinations and to be able to do it from a place that is certainly the gold standard for space travel, it’s very exciting for us," said Matt Ganser, vice president of business operations for Astra Space, Inc.

They’ll be launching from the Space Coast for the first time in January. 

"They’re a small launch company with a small vehicle to put small launch satellites into orbit. That’s a new part of the growing industry," said Space Florida Vice President Dale Ketcham.

Ketcham says their smaller satellites are less expensive to put into orbit, and that’s helped them operate at lightning speed. 

It took less than a year for the Space Force to approve and prepare the launch site for the new commercial partner. 

Astra Space says it’s the fastest privately-funded company in history to reach space. 

"We have an informal motto that we’re going for which is daily space delivery. We think the Space Coast could be a really large part of that," Ganser said.

Ketcham says more companies operating from the Space Coast means more launches, and more launches means more business in the long run.

"If we’re able to convince them that this is the place they really want to be, then they’ll make the investment and more sustained infrastructure that will enable them to establish permanent jobs here."

"Companies like Astra or if it’s like Cape Canaveral that make space travel more affordable, that make launch services more affordable for everybody, that is going to transform our planet in a really positive way," Ganser said.