The Future of Astra, with Chris Kemp (Astra)

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 4The 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/kempJohn Walker's "A Rocket a Day Keeps the High Costs Away" — http://www.astronautix.com/a/arocketadayhighcostsaway.htmlMo'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/)