spacetoday.net: Three companies win NASA contracts for cubesat launches

Posted: Sat, Dec 19, 2020, 5:36 PM ET (2236 GMT)
Three companies won NASA contracts for launches of cubesats. NASA awarded contracts Friday to Astra Space, Firefly Aerospace and Relativity Space for launches of cubesat missions through its Venture Class Launch Services 2 program. The contracts have a combined value of $16.7 million and include one launch for each company by mid-2022. The program is designed to support development of new small launch capabilities. Rocket Lab and Virgin Orbit won similar contracts in 2015; Virgin Orbit was to carry out its launch as part of that program Dec. 19, but announced over the weekend it was pausing launch preparations after some employees entered quarantine because of potential exposure to COVID-19.