US private company rocket fails to reach orbit

The carrier rocket of the private American company Astra, launched from the Kodiak cosmodrome in Alaska, did not reach orbit due to the first stage's accident.

"Successful launch … but the flight ended during the first stage operation," the company said in a Twitter statement.

The private American company Astra was established in 2016. It has developed a two-stage rocket to launch spacecraft. In 2018, the missile made two suborbital flights from the Kodiak cosmodrome, which were emergency.

Astra attended the competition of Defense Advanced Research Projects (DARPA) of US Department but failed to put satellites into orbit by the deadline. In preparation for the first orbital launch in March 2020, the rocket collapsed at the launch complex.