Astra's Rocket 3.2 launched on a test flight at Alaska's Pacific Spaceport Complex, Dec. 15, 2020. California-based Astra was the first to launch the rocket into space.Officially, Astra is now public.Today, June 30, the Bay Area startup Holicity completed its previously announced merger. Holicity is a special purpose acquisition (SPAC), backed by Bill Gates, and Craig McCaw (billionaire telecom pioneer).Astra will trade on the Nasdaq Global Select Market starting Thursday, July 1, becoming the first launch company to do so. This milestone will be marked by Chris Kemp, Astra CEO, who will ring the opening bell at Nasdaq in the morning.Video: Watch Astra's Rocket3.2 take off on its first successful flightKemp stated that he was humbled to be able to call on public shareholders to help the mission.Astra was established in 2016 and aims to be the launch provider of choice to small-satellite operators. It offers flexible, dedicated, and affordable rides to orbit. In December 2020, the company was able to reach space with a test flight of Rocket 3.2, which is 38 feet tall (12 meters) from the Pacific Spaceport Complex on Alaska’s Kodiak Island.Rocket 3.2 ran out fuel only seconds before reaching orbital velocity. Astra made minor adjustments to Rocket 3.3 and is certain that the two-stage vehicle will reach orbit during its flight. A fully operational mission is scheduled for liftoff sometime in the summer.If everything goes according to plan, things will accelerate significantly. Astra, which has over 50 contracts for launches in excess of $150 million, aims to fly once per month starting this fall. Next year, it will ramp up to weekly flights and then reach almost daily flight frequency by 2025, Kemp stated.Astra will receive approximately $500 million in cash proceeds from the merger with Holicity. The company's value is $2.1 billion. Astra will be able to achieve its ambitious goals with the money. This includes increasing its orbital payload capability from its original 110 pounds. (50 kg) to 1,100 pounds. (500 kg) and building rockets as well as spacecraftKemp stated, "This transaction is really the biggest thing for us. It gives us a fully-funded path to daily space delivery." "We didn’t have that before."A few other space companies are also poised to go public in the coming year. Rocket Lab, one of Astra’s main competitors, is also on the horizon. Rocket Lab has been sending small satellites into orbit since 2018. Rocket Lab announced that it would merge with Vector Acquisition Corporation in March, a deal which values the launch company at $4.1billion.Mike Wall is the author and illustrator of "Out There" by Grand Central Publishing (2018). This book is about the search for alien life. Follow him @michaeldwall. Follow us on Facebook @Spacedotcom and Twitter @michaeldwall
