On Tuesday, Astra, a maker of small rockets, will reveal an agreement to go public by merging with Holicity Inc., according to Bloomberg. The deal will value Astra at $2.1 billion and tap into $300 million raised by Holicity, and $200 million from funds managed by BlackRock.
- Astra, founded in 2016, has been making a line of small, relatively cheap rockets at its Alameda, California factory but faced problems with its initial launch attempts as some rockets had fiery explosions.
- Astra had a successful launch of Rocket 3.2 from a spaceport in Alaska in December, but the equipment missed reaching the target orbit in space.
- The company aims to begin monthly rocket launches through the latter half of 2021.
- Astria plans to build the core elements of satellites into its rockets in its push towards profitability.
- Start-ups and larger companies are looking to fill the skies with communications, imaging, and scientific instruments opening up opportunities for the commercial space revolution.
- Astria’s deal is expected to close in the second quarter, and the company will trade under the ticker symbol ASTR on the Nasdaq exchange.
Holicity Inc. stock is currently gaining. HOL: NASDAQ is up 39.97%.
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