This week’s Pathfinder podcast features Chris Kemp, the founder and CEO of Astra, the publicly-traded launch company based out of Alameda, CA that went public via SPAC in the summer 2021.

Since then, Astra's valuation has seen a dramatic decline, plummeting from a peak of approximately $4B to a mere $67M today. Chris paints a vivid picture of two contrasting narratives. On one hand, there's a satellite propulsion business, acquired through the purchase of startup Apollo Fusion, with a 278-engine backlog valued between $70M and $83M (based on an average selling price of $250-300K). This business has a distant, yet potential opportunity to secure contracts that could significantly change its trajectory. In contrast, the launch business is in jeopardy as capital evaporates. Astra's Rocket 4 must not only launch successfully but also prove its consistency to secure significant commercial deals.

Many of our listeners are well-acquainted with Astra's struggles, given the numerous reports on the company's launch failures and recent wave of departures. Today, our conversation with Chris primarily focused on the future of Astra and how to think about what upside case may remain for the business. We chat:

Rocket 3 vs Rocket 4: why Rocket 3 failed and the lessons applied to Rocket 4
The status of commercial and government contracts
The state of financing for launch companies
Valuing Astra’s satellite propulsion business
Key lessons learned as CEO
What does the future hold for Astra?

And much more…

• Chapters •

00:00 - Introduction

00:56 - Current state of Astra

03:04 - Origins of the business model

07:26 - Key challenges today

11:49 - Rocket 4's specs

16:13 - Contracts with NASA/Space Force

17:09 - Improving reliability from Rocket 3 to 4

21:30 - Rocket 4 engines

24:24 - Importance of strategic partnerships

29:07 - Astra's manufacturing facility

30:03 - What would you have done differently?

33:25 - Bull-case for the prop business

39:15 - Current financial health

41:27 - Team construction and retention

44:10 - What is the investment case for Astra today?

47:03 - Lessons learned as CEO

49:57 - Conclusion

• Show notes •

Astra website — https://astra.com/

Chris’s socials — https://twitter.com/kemp

John Walker's "A Rocket a Day Keeps the High Costs Away" — http://www.astronautix.com/a/arocketadayhighcostsaway.html

Mo's socials — https://twitter.com/itsmoislam

Payload’s socials — https://twitter.com/payloadspace / https://www.linkedin.com/company/payloadspace

Pathfinder archive — Watch: https://www.youtube.com/@payloadspace Pathfinder archive — Listen: https://pod.payloadspace.com/episodes

• About us •

Pathfinder is brought to you by Payload, a modern space media brand built from the ground up for a new age of space exploration and commercialization. We deliver need-to-know news and insights daily to 15,000+ commercial, civil, and military space leaders. Payload is read by decision-makers at every leading new space company, along with c-suite leaders at all of the aerospace & defense primes. We’re also read on Capitol Hill, in the Pentagon, and at space agencies around the world. Payload began as a weekly email sent to a few friends and coworkers.

Today, we’re a team distributed across four time zones and two continents, publishing three media properties across multiple platforms: 1) Payload, our flagship daily newsletter, sends M-F @ 9am Eastern (https://newsletter.payloadspace.com/) 2) Pathfinder publishes weekly on Tuesday mornings (pod.payloadspace.com) 3) Polaris, our weekly policy publication, hits inboxes Tuesday (https://polaris.payloadspace.com/) 4) Parallax, our weekly space science briefing, hits inboxes Thursday (https://parallax.payloadspace.com/)

The Future of Astra, with Chris Kemp (Astra)

Valley of Depth