ASTR

Astra Space, Inc.

A maker of rockets and spacecraft engines, this California aerospace company builds small orbital launch vehicles and Hall-effect thrusters (electric engines) that keep satellites moving in orbit. It grew out of a 2005 research firm called Ventions, reborn as Astra in 2016, and its name comes from the Latin "ad astra," meaning "to the stars." Its early Rocket 3 was designed to fit in a standard shipping container and famously earned orbit in 2021 after earlier attempts that "went sideways."