New Rocket Company Arrives at Cape Canaveral
Local News Staff 
Central Floridians and Space Coast residents will be witness to a new rocket company's launches in the coming months as Astra Space Inc. prepares to lift their payloads into space.
Founded in 2016, the company focuses on putting hardware and small satellites into orbit. Astra Space Inc. will begin launching from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station beginning in January.
The company is headquartered in Alameda, California, and often partners with the U.S. Space Force to complete missions from Space Launch Complex 46. The complex was utilized in the 1980s for Trident II missile tests and in the late 1990s for Lockheed Martin Athena rockets. Orion tests were also based out of the complex in more recent years.
“This historic launch site has been prepared for a new commercial launch partner in less than a year, which is a tremendous milestone for our combined team, and illustrates how [Space Launch Delta 45] sets the pace for access to space,” said Brigadier Gen. Stephen Purdy, commander of SLD 45, previously known as the 45th Space Wing when it was part of the Air Force, and director of the Eastern Range.
