The Ad Astra Rocket Company is a United States Delaware corporation dedicated to the development of advanced plasma rocket propulsion technology, located in Webster, Texas near NASA Johnson Space Center, with a second facility in Liberia, Costa Rica. Incorporated on January 14, 2005, the company is led by retired astronaut Franklin Chang Diaz and has worked on his Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket concept, known by its acronym VASIMR, intended to achieve advantages over chemical rocket designs including lunar cargo transport, in space refueling and high speed distant space missions.
Facts
Agency TypeAmerican private plasma rocket propulsion company (Delaware corporation) with a wholly owned Costa Rica subsidiary 1 Founded Year HeadquartersWebster, Texas, United States 1 HeadFranklin Chang-Díaz (President and CEO) 1 Open Questions
Annual BudgetNot disclosed
Privately held Delaware corporation; no annual revenue or budget figure publicly disclosed as of 2026-09-12. In the Other Atlases
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Ad Astra Rocket Company
Wikipedialead section, sentence 1 (business description)
The Ad Astra Rocket Company, a U.S. Delaware corporation, is a rocket propulsion company dedicated to the development of advanced plasma rocket propulsion technology.
lead section, sentence 2 (founding year)
the company was incorporated on January 14, 2005.
lead section, sentence 2 (headquarters)
Located in Webster, Texas, three miles away from NASA's Johnson Space Center, and in Liberia, Costa Rica
lead section, sentence 3 (leadership)
The President and CEO of Ad Astra Rocket Company is retired astronaut Franklin Chang-Díaz.
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