Alaska-owned aerospace company lines up commercial launches

A commercial rocket is expected to launch in January or February 2018 at a state-owned aerospace company's facility on Kodiak Island.

The Kodiak Daily Mirror reported Monday that Alaska Aerospace Corporation has secured three launch contracts and has a fourth in the works.

Ad Astra, a Texas-based aerospace company specializing in advanced plasma rocket propulsion technology, is scheduled for the first launch.

Vector Space Systems is expected to launch from the facility in late 2018 and the company will also support a second Rocket Lab launch in New Zealand in December or early next year.

Company CEO Craig Campbell said he hopes the U.S.-based aerospace company Rocket Lab will be ready to launch in Alaska in 2019.