You can watch Astra's return-to-flight rocket launch from Alaska today. Here's how. - Space.com

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Update for 12:45 p.m. EDT: Astra has launched its Astra-1 mission into orbit and is currently awaiting confirmation of successful payload deployment, an event that was expected shortly after second engine shutdown. The launch lifted off on time at 12:22 p.m. EDT (1622 GMT, 9:22 a.m. PDT) today. Astra has ended its live webcast and will share any updates on payload deployment via its social media channels. You can follow the mission on Astra's Twitter here. Our wrap story on the mission so far will be posted shortly.

"We had a nominal first and upper stage flight and are awaiting payload deployment confirmation. Stay tuned for updates," Astra officials wrote.

The space startup Astra will attempt its first rocket launch since a failure in February today (March 15) and you can watch it live online.

An Astra Rocket 3.3 launch vehicle carrying three payloads for customer Spaceflight Inc. is scheduled to lift off at 12:22 p.m. EDT (1622 GMT, 9:22 a.m. PDT) from Pad LP-3B at the Pacific Spaceport Complex on Alaska's Kodiak Island. It will mark a return to flight for Astra after a Rocket 3.3 flight failed on Feb. 10 after launching from Florida, leading to the loss of 4 satellites for NASA's Educational Launch of Nanosatellites project.

You can watch Astra's planned launch live in the video feed above, courtesy of Astra and NASA Spaceflight, beginning at about 11:30 a.m. EDT (1530 GMT). You can also watch it directly from Astra's livestream page here. Today's launch try is Astra's second launch attempt after the risk of lightning prevented a Monday liftoff.

Video: Watch Astra's Rocket 3.2 launch on its 1st successful flight

An Astra Rocket carrying the Astra-1 payloads for Spaceflight Inc. stands atop its launchpad at the Pacific Spaceport Complex on Kodiak Island, Alaska ahead of a March 14, 2022 launch attempt. (Image credit: Brady Kenniston / Astra)

Today's mission, called Astra-1, is the first of three flights for Spaceflight Inc. through 2025 under an agreement announced on Monday. It will carry three payloads, including one each for the company NearSpace Launch and the Portland Aerospace Society.

"We continuously look for opportunities to provide our customers access to flexible and reliable options to get to orbit,” said Curt Blake, CEO and president of Spaceflight Inc. in a statement. "By expanding our launch partner portfolio to include Astra, we can increase the launch opportunities available to our customers. Astra's willingness to explore creative launch solutions and shared dedication to customer success makes them a great partner."

The NearSpace Launch payload is called S4 Crossover and is a technology demonstrator that will test hardware for a host platform that can hold payloads on future missions. It will remain attached to the upper stage of the 43-foot-tall (13 meters) Rocket 3.3 vehicle, known as LV0009, after it reaches orbit.

The Portland Aerospace Society's payload is a small CubeSat called OreSat0 built by students at Portland State University in Oregon. As Portland State's first CubeSat, it's designed to prove out technologies to be used in a bigger CubeSat that will study cirrus clouds for global climate science research on a later mission.