Astra Space (ASTR) Risk Analysis

Our business is subject to stringent U.S. import and export control laws and regulations as well as economic sanctions laws and regulations. We are required to import and export our products, software, technology and services, as well as run our operations in the United States, in full compliance with such laws and regulations, which include the EAR, the ITAR, and economic sanctions administered by the Treasury Department's OFAC. Similar laws that impact our business exist in other jurisdictions. These foreign trade controls prohibit, restrict, or regulate our ability to, directly or indirectly, export, deemed export, re-export, deemed re-export or transfer certain hardware, technical data, technology, software, or services to certain countries and territories, entities, and individuals, and for end uses. We have had inadvertent disclosures of certain of our products or components which are subject to the requirements of these U.S. import and export control laws while no such regulatory authority has yet determined that any such inadvertent disclosure has violated these U.S. import and export control laws, we could be found to be in violation of these laws and regulations. Such a violation, if determined, could result in civil and criminal, monetary and non-monetary penalties, the loss of export or import privileges, debarment and reputational harm. If we are unable to maintain adequate controls related to the disclosure of information subject to U.S. import and export control laws and regulations, we may have future incidents that could result in violations of these laws and regulations. Pursuant to these foreign trade control laws and regulations, we are required, among other things, to (i) maintain a registration under the ITAR, (ii) determine the proper licensing jurisdiction and export classification of products, software, and technology, and (iii) obtain licenses or other forms of U.S. government authorization to engage in the conduct of our spaceflight business. The authorization requirements include the need to get permission to release controlled technology to foreign person employees and other foreign persons. Changes in U.S. foreign trade control laws and regulations, or reclassifications of our products or technologies, may restrict our operations. The inability to secure and maintain necessary licenses and other authorizations could negatively impact our ability to compete successfully or to operate our spaceflight business as planned. Any changes in the export control regulations or U.S. government licensing policy, such as those necessary to implement U.S. government commitments to multilateral control regimes, may restrict our operations. Given the great discretion the government has in issuing or denying such authorizations to advance U.S. national security and foreign policy interests, there can be no assurance we will be successful in our future efforts to secure and maintain necessary licenses, registrations, or other U.S. government regulatory approvals. Under the "Exon-Florio Amendment" to the U.S. Defense Production Act of 1950, as amended (the "DPA"), the U.S. President has the power to disrupt or block certain foreign investments in U.S. businesses if he determines that such a transaction threatens U.S. national security. The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States ("CFIUS") has been delegated the authority to conduct national security reviews of certain foreign investments. CFIUS may impose mitigation conditions to grant clearance of a transaction. The Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act ("FIRRMA"), enacted in 2018, amended the DPA to, among other things, expands CFIUS's jurisdiction beyond acquisitions of control of U.S. businesses. Under FIRRMA, CFIUS also has jurisdiction over certain foreign non-controlling investments in U.S. businesses that have involvement with critical technology or critical infrastructure, or that collect and maintain sensitive personal data of U.S. citizens ("TID U.S. Businesses"), if the foreign investor receives specified triggering rights in connection with its investment. We are a TID U.S. Business because we develop and design technologies that would be considered critical technologies. Certain foreign investments in TID U.S. Businesses are subject to mandatory filing with CFIUS. These restrictions on the ability of foreign persons to invest in us could limit our ability to engage in strategic transactions that could benefit our stockholders, including a change of control, and could also affect the price that an investor may be willing to pay for our common stock.

We are subject to a wide variety of laws and regulations relating to various aspects of our business, including with respect to our launch system operations, employment and labor, health care, tax, privacy and data security, health and safety, and environmental issues. Laws and regulations at the foreign, federal, state and local levels frequently change, especially in relation to new and emerging industries, and we cannot always reasonably predict the impact from, or the ultimate cost of compliance with, current or future regulatory or administrative changes. We monitor these developments and devote a significant amount of management's time and external resources towards compliance with these laws, regulations and guidelines, and such compliance places a significant burden on management's time and other resources, and it may limit our ability to expand into certain jurisdictions. Moreover, changes in law, the imposition of new or additional regulations or the enactment of any new or more stringent legislation that impacts our business could require us to change the way we operate and could have a material adverse effect on our sales, profitability, cash flows and financial condition. Failure to comply with these laws, such as with respect to obtaining and maintaining licenses, certificates, authorizations and permits critical for the operation of our business, may result in civil penalties or private lawsuits, or the suspension or revocation of licenses, certificates, authorizations or permits, which would prevent us from operating our business. For example, conducting commercial space launches in the United States require licenses and permits from certain agencies of the Department of Transportation, including the FAA, and review by other agencies of the U.S. Government, including the Department of Defense, Department of State, NASA, and FCC. License approval includes an interagency review of safety, operational, national security, and foreign policy and international obligations implications, as well as a review of foreign ownership. Delays in FAA action allowing us to conduct commercial space launches could adversely affect our ability to operate our business and our financial results. For example, the FAA has recently concluded its mishap investigation into our LV0010 flight. Moreover, regulation of our industry is still evolving, and new or different laws or regulations could affect our operations, increase direct compliance costs for us or cause any third-party suppliers or contractors to raise the prices they charge us because of increased compliance costs. Application of these laws to our business may negatively impact our performance in various ways, limiting the collaborations we may pursue, further regulating the export and re-export of our products, services, and technology from the United States and abroad, and increasing our costs and the time necessary to obtain required authorization. The adoption of a multi-layered regulatory approach to any one of the laws or regulations to which we are or may become subject, particularly where the layers are in conflict, could require alteration of our manufacturing processes or operational parameters which may adversely impact our business. We may not be in complete compliance with all such requirements at all times and, even when we believe we are in complete compliance, a regulatory agency may determine that we are not. The timing of our launches depends on our ability to secure regulatory licenses from the FAA and the FCC, and no company has yet conducted licensed launches at the annual rate we are targeting. We aim to mass-produce the world's first daily space delivery system. A component of our near-term strategy involves increasing our launch cadence by accelerating our development and production efforts and adding additional launch sites. Our ability to achieve this increased launch cadence within the timeframe in which we hope to do so will depend on our ability to secure the necessary regulatory licenses from the FAA, the FCC and other regulatory authorities. To our knowledge, the applicable regulatory authorities to date have not granted such licenses to a company endeavoring to launch rockets with such frequency, and as a result our business is dependent upon a regulatory framework that is untested and unprecedented. Our failure to obtain the licenses necessary to support our anticipated launch cadence, or any delays or hurdles that present in our interactions with the FAA, the FCC or other regulatory authorities, could impact our ability to grow our business, could delay our ability to execute on our existing and future customer contracts and could adversely affect our business and results of operations.

We collect, store, process, and use personal information and other customer data, and we rely in part on third parties that are not directly under our control to manage certain of these operations and to collect, store, process and use payment information. Due to the volume and sensitivity of the personal information and data we and these third parties manage and expect to manage in the future, as well as the nature of our customer base, the security features of our information systems are critical. A variety of federal, state and foreign laws and regulations govern the collection, use, retention, sharing and security of this information. Laws and regulations relating to privacy, data protection and consumer protection are evolving and subject to potentially differing interpretations. These requirements may not be harmonized, may be interpreted and applied in a manner that is inconsistent from one jurisdiction to another or may conflict with other rules or our practices. As a result, our practices may not have complied or may not comply in the future with all such laws, regulations, requirements and obligations. We expect that new industry standards, laws and regulations will continue to be proposed regarding privacy, data protection and information security in many jurisdictions. We cannot yet determine the impact such future laws, regulations and standards may have on our business. Complying with these evolving obligations is costly.

Because Astra has limited historical financial data and operates in a rapidly evolving market, any predictions about its future revenue and expenses may not be as accurate as they would be if it had a longer operating history or operated in a more developed market. Astra has encountered in the past, and will encounter in the future, risks and uncertainties frequently experienced by growing companies with limited operating histories in rapidly changing industries. If Astra's assumptions regarding these risks and uncertainties, which it uses to plan and operate its business, are incorrect or change, or if it does not address these risks successfully, its results of operations could differ materially from its expectations and its business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected. The markets for launch services and space products have not been well established as the commercialization of space is a relatively new development and is rapidly evolving. Our estimates for the total addressable markets for launch and space services are based on a number of internal and third-party estimates, including our contracted revenue and sales pipeline, assumed prices at which we can offer services, assumed frequency of service, our ability to leverage our current manufacturing and operational processes and general market conditions. As a result, our estimates of the annual total addressable markets for in-space infrastructure services, as well as the expected growth rate for the total addressable market for that experience, may prove to be incorrect.

Our current primary research and development objectives focus on the development of our existing and any additional launch vehicles, launch facilities and capabilities, spacecraft and related technology. If we do not complete this development in our anticipated timeframes, or at all, our ability to grow our business will be adversely affected. The successful development of our launch and spacecraft capabilities and related technology involves many uncertainties, some of which are beyond our control, including, but not limited to: - timing in making further enhancements to our launch vehicle and spacecraft design and specifications;- successful completion of our planned commercial launches;- our ability to obtain additional applicable approvals, licenses or certifications from regulatory agencies, if required, and maintaining current approvals, licenses or certifications;- our ability to schedule and receive access to launch sites, receive related government approvals, launch windows, licenses, mandated insurance coverages, and aligned logistics of moving a rocket to, and launching from, rocket launch facilities;- our ability to respond quickly enough to decisions of third-parties outside our control that can impact our launch schedules or launch operations;- performance of our manufacturing facilities despite risks that disrupt productions, such as natural disasters and hazardous materials;- performance of a limited number of suppliers for certain raw materials and supplied components;- performance of our third-party contractors that support our research and development activities;- our ability to maintain rights from third parties for intellectual properties critical to our research and development activities;- our ability to continue funding and maintain our current research and development activities, particularly the development of various enhancements that increase the payload of our rocket; and - the impact of the geopolitical crisis between Russia and Ukraine, the instability in the banking industry and of future geopolitical, economic, environmental, social or health crises, on us, our customers, suppliers and distributors, and the global economy.

Our operations are subject to many hazards and operational risks inherent to our business, including general business risks, product liability and damage to third parties, our infrastructure or properties that may be caused by fires, floods and other natural disasters, power losses, telecommunications failures, terrorist attacks, human errors and similar events. Additionally, our manufacturing operations are hazardous at times and may expose us to safety risks, including environmental risks and health and safety hazards to our employees or third parties. Moreover, our operations are based in and around our Alameda, California campus, where our machine shop, production facilities, administrative offices, and research and development functions are located. Our Alameda, California campus also houses our facility used for rocket engine testing, research, and development. In addition, we also operate facilities in Mountain View, California and Sunnyvale, California, launch facilities in Kodiak, Alaska and Cape Canaveral, Florida. Any significant interruption due to any of the above hazards and operational to the manufacturing or operation of our facilities, including from weather conditions, growth constraints, performance by third-party providers (such as electric, utility or telecommunications providers), failure to properly handle and use hazardous materials, failure of computer systems, power supplies, fuel supplies, infrastructure damage, disagreements with the owners of the land on which our facilities are located, or damage sustained to our launch pad could result in manufacturing delays or the delay or cancellation of our planned commercial launches and, as a result, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, our insurance coverage may be inadequate to cover our liabilities related to such hazards or operational risks. Moreover, we may not be able to maintain adequate insurance in the future at rates we consider reasonable and commercially justifiable, and insurance may not continue to be available on terms as favorable as our current arrangements. The occurrence of a significant uninsured claim, or a claim in excess of the insurance coverage limits maintained by us, could harm our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We manufacture and operate highly sophisticated launch vehicles, Space Products and conduct launch activities that depend on complex technology. Although there have been and will continue to be technological advances in spaceflight, our operations remain an inherently hazardous and risky activity. Launch failures, explosions and other accidents during manufacturing, on launch or during flight have occurred and will likely occur in the future. While we have built operational processes to ensure that the design, manufacture, performance and servicing of our launch vehicles, Space Products and related technologies meet rigorous quality standards, there can be no assurance that we will not experience operational or process failures and other problems, including through manufacturing or design defects, cyber-attacks or other intentional acts, that could result in potential safety risks. We may experience a total loss of our launch vehicle and our customers' payloads if there is an accident or failure at launch or during the journey into space, which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition or reputation. For some missions, we or our customers can elect to buy launch insurance, which can reduce our monetary losses from any launch failure, but even in this case we will have losses associated with our inability to test our technology in space and delays with further technology development. Any insurance we or our customers have may not be adequate to cover our or their loss, respectively. Any actual or perceived safety or reliability issues may result in significant reputational harm to our businesses, in addition to tort liability, maintenance, increased safety infrastructure and other costs that may arise. Such issues could result in delaying or cancelling planned launches, increased regulation or other systemic consequences. Our inability to meet our safety standards or adverse publicity affecting our reputation as a result of accidents, mechanical failures, damages to customer property or medical complications could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.