ZombieAerospace/Defense

What Happened to Astra Space?

Ticker: ASTRSPAC Year: 2021Merger: 2021

Return

-98.8%

Current Price

$0.2

Peak Price

$16.95

Trust Size

$300M

Summary

Small rocket launch company that promised cheap access to space. Most launches failed. Stock crashed 99% after multiple rocket explosions and a pivot to spacecraft.

What Happened

Astra merged with Holicity Inc in June 2021 during the space SPAC boom. The company promised to build cheap, quickly manufactured rockets for small satellite launches. But Astra had a terrible launch success rate — multiple rockets exploded or failed to reach orbit. After burning through hundreds of millions, the company pivoted from rockets to spacecraft components. CEO Chris Kemp did a 1:15 reverse split in 2023 to avoid delisting. The stock went from $17 to under $0.20.

Key People

Chris KempCEO & Co-founder— Former NASA CTO, persisted through failures
Adam LondonCTO & Co-founder— Led rocket engineering

Timeline

2021-02

SPAC merger announced

2021-07

Merger completed

2021-11

Stock peaks at $17

2022-02

Rocket launch failure (payload lost)

2023-03

1:15 reverse split, pivots to spacecraft

Risk Indicators

⚠ïļ Reverse Split⚖ïļ Class Action Lawsuit