Astra Awarded VADR Contract by NASA

Astra Space (NASDAQ: ASTR) has been awarded a five-year, $300 million IDIQ contract from NASA under the VADR Launch Services initiative.

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01/27/2022 - 03:30 PM

Contract provides low-cost mission-driven launch to NASA

ALAMEDA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Astra Space, Inc. (“Astra”) (Nasdaq: ASTR), today announced the award of the Venture-Class Acquisition of Dedicated and Rideshare (VADR) Launch Services Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for future task orders, which have not yet been issued. This contract has a five-year ordering period with a maximum total value of $300 million and will be managed by the Launch Services Program at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. This new contract is in addition to the four launches NASA has already contracted with Astra for delivery this year.

VADR allows for the rapid acquisition of launch services to meet mission requirements for scientific and research payloads, enabling launch to any orbit within 12-24 months from task order award. Astra’s launch system offers affordable dedicated access to space aimed at serving customers like NASA to support their science and technology needs.

“We are incredibly excited to announce the awardees for VADR from a broad range of established and emerging launch providers and launch service aggregators and brokers,” said Bradley Smith, director of launch services at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “This speaks to our expertise in understanding the launch market as we crafted VADR to maximize our efforts in enabling a growing U.S. launch industry. With this new tool in our toolbox, these tremendously flexible contracts will meet a wide variety of NASA science and technology needs, further enhancing the agency’s Launch Services Program’s reputation as Earth’s bridge to space.”

“It is an honor to expand our partnership with NASA,” said Martin Attiq, Chief Business Officer of Astra. “This new contract streamlines the contract process and allows Astra to deliver the most cost-efficient dedicated access among proven launch systems more rapidly than before.”

About Astra

Astra’s mission is to improve life on Earth from space by creating a healthier and more connected planet. Today, Astra offers one of the lowest cost-per-launch dedicated orbital launch service of any operational launch provider in the world. Astra delivered its first commercial payload into Earth orbit in 2021, making it the fastest company in history to reach this milestone, just five years after it was founded in 2016. Astra (NASDAQ: ASTR) was the first space launch company to be publicly traded on Nasdaq. Visit astra.com to learn more about Astra.