Astra Optimizes Workforce to Support Sustainable Long-Term Business Plan

Astra Space, Inc. (“Astra”) (NASDAQ: ASTR) today announced a strategic reallocation of its workforce from its Launch Services organization to its Astra Spacecraft Engines business to support its growing customer base and order backlog of its spacecraft engines.

Astra last announced 278 cumulative committed orders of the Astra Spacecraft Engine through March 30, 2023, representing approximately $77 million of contract value. A substantial majority of these orders are expected to be delivered through the end of 2024.

In support of the Astra Spacecraft Engine business, Astra has reallocated approximately 50 engineering and manufacturing personnel from Launch Services to Space Products. This reallocation includes a combination of permanent reassignments and temporary assignments to support customer programs and increasing production and test capacity through the end of the year.

“We are intensely focused on delivering on our commitments to our customers, which includes ensuring we have sufficient resources and an adequate financial runway to execute on our near-term opportunities,” said Chris Kemp, Founder, Chairman and CEO.

In addition to this reallocation, Astra has also reduced its overall workforce by approximately 25% since the beginning of the quarter, including a reduction of approximately 70 employees that was announced on August 4, 2023. The affected employees primarily supported the Company’s launch, SG&A, and shared services functions.

“I am grateful for the sacrifices that the employees impacted by this decision have made, and we are deeply committed to treating all impacted employees with the utmost care and respect during this transition,” continued Kemp.

Astra’s Launch Services organization remains focused on completing milestones for several launch customer contracts while continuing development of Rocket 4 and Launch System 2.0. The reduction and reallocation of Launch Services resources is expected to delay the timing of the Company’s test launches and paid commercial launches.

As discussed on our previous earnings call, Astra continues to make significant reductions to its operating expenses. Cumulative reductions in workforce are expected to result in over $4m of quarterly cost savings beginning in Q4 2023, which when combined with ongoing reductions in Capex and Opex, are expected to result in substantial reductions to cash burn over the next few quarters.