Astra targeting late August for next launch with Space Force satellite

Publicly traded rocket builder Astra will go for its first launch of the year later this month, aiming to carry a Pentagon payload to orbit.

“The Space Force is right now lined up to do a demonstration launch with a window that’s going to begin August 27,” Astra CEO Chris Kemp told CNBC.

This launch is the first of two Astra has under contract from the U.S. Space Force’s Space Test Program, with the latter planned for later this year. The launch window will run for 16 days, until September 11.

Astra’s Rocket 3 vehicle will liftoff from the Pacific Spaceport Complex on Kodiak Island in Alaska. The payload is a…