An Astra Spacecraft Engine during testing.
Astra
Struggling space company Astra is cutting 25% of its workforce, the corporate announced Friday, and restructuring to focus more on its spacecraft engine business, which can delay progress on the small rocket it has been developing.
Astra is cutting about 70 employees, in addition to reallocating about 50 personnel from its rocket development program over to its space products unit, which builds the corporate’s spacecraft engines.
“We’re intensely focused on delivering on our commitments to our customers, which incorporates ensuring now we have sufficient resources and an adequate financial runway to execute on our near-term opportunities,” Astra chairman and CEO Chris Kemp said in a press release.
The workforce reductions are expected to lead to $4 million in quarterly cost savings, starting within the fourth quarter. Astra noted that it had 278 total orders for spacecraft engines, as of 4 months ago, value about $77 million in contracts. It expects to deliver on “a considerable majority” of those orders by the top of 2024.
In a separate filing Friday, Astra said it raised $10.8 million in net proceeds from selling debt to investment group High Trail Capital.
Astra stock was little modified in after-hours trading Friday from its close at 38 cents a share.
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Last yr, Astra moved away from its Rocket 3.3 vehicle sooner than expected to focus on the following version, an upgraded system called Rocket 4.0, after its final Rocket 3.3 mission failed mid-launch. While the corporate was targeting a primary launch of Rocket 4 by the top of this yr, in a securities filing, Astra noted the prioritization of the spacecraft engine business “will affect the timing of the Company’s future test launches.”
“The Company’s ability to conduct paid industrial launches in 2024 and beyond will depend upon the final word timing and success of the initial test launches which can in turn depend upon the resources that the Company is in a position to devote to Launch Systems development in the approaching quarters,” Astra warned.
The corporate also released preliminary second-quarter results. Astra expects it brought $1 million or less in revenue throughout the quarter, with a net loss between $13 million and $15 million, and a remaining amount of money and securities of about $26 million. The corporate plans to report finalized second-quarter results Aug. 14.
Last month, Astra finalized plans to conduct a reverse stock split at a 1 to 15 ratio. It is also in search of to raise up to $65 million through an “on the market” offering of common stock through Roth Capital and ended a previous agreement with B. Riley to sell up to $100 million in common stock that the corporate signed a yr ago.
In Friday’s filing, Astra said it hired PJT Partners as a financial advisor, with the corporate “focused on thoughtfully pursuing opportunities to raise additional capital.”