Why Astra Space Shares Are Falling Today

Astra Space Inc (NASDAQ: ASTR) is trading lower Friday after the company experienced an issue with a flight that resulted in payloads not being delivered to orbit.

The stock was halted Thursday afternoon after part of the rocket appeared to lose control on the company’s live webcast of the launch. Astra shares tumbled by more than 25% and remain on a downward trajectory today. 

The failed mission aimed to deliver payloads to orbit for NASA. Astra CEO Chris Kemp confirmed its failure on Twitter yesterday, extending apologies to NASA. 

"We experienced an issue in today's flight. I'm deeply sorry we were not able to deliver our customer's payloads," Kemp said. The company also confirmed the issues via Twitter. 

We experienced an issue during today's flight that resulted in the payloads not being delivered to orbit.

We are deeply sorry to our customers @NASA and the small satellite teams. More information will be provided after we complete a data review.

— Astra (@Astra) February 10, 2022

Astra is a technology company that provides space services, including satellite launch services and other space services, based on a proprietary, vertically integrated technology platform. The company made its public debut last year after completing a SPAC merger.

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Following the incident, BofA Securities analyst Ronald Epstein downgraded Astra from a Neutral rating to an Underperform rating and lowered the price target from $7 to $4.

ASTR Price Action: Astra has traded as low as $3.25 and as high as $16.95 over a 52-week period.

The stock was down 12.7% at $3.42 at time of publication. 

Photo: courtesy of John Kraus and Astra.