Job cuts come to space tech companies: Astra lays off 16% of its workforce

Astra, a rocket startup based in the US that went public last year, has fired 16 per cent of its staff as part of a wider strategy to increase the shrinking financial runway and decrease expenses.

According to TechCrunch, the company mentioned that in order to expand its core businesses — namely, launch and spacecraft engines, it would reduce near-term investments in space services.

With 237 committed orders for its spacecraft engines from companies like Maxar, OneWeb, and Astroscale, which represents an increase of 130 per cent from the previous quarter, Astra reported that this latter segment in particular has become a growing source of revenue.