Item 1. Legal Proceedings.
There is no material litigation, arbitration or governmental proceeding currently pending or to Astra’s knowledge, threatened against us or any members of Astra’s management team in their capacity as such. See Part I, Item 1 “Financial Statements (Unaudited) — Note 12 — Commitments and Contingencies.”
Item 1A. Risk Factors.
Certain of the risk factors described in Part I, Item 1A of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020, do not fairly represent the risks of the Company now that the Business Combination has been consummated. For convenience, we have restated the risk factors here, with those adjustments that are appropriate to reflect the Company's business operations on and after the consummation of the Business Combination on June 30, 2021. These risk factors are not exhaustive, and investors are encouraged to perform their own investigation with respect to the business, financial condition and prospects of Astra. You should carefully consider the following risk factors in addition to the other information included in this filing and our other filings with the SEC. Astra may face additional risks and uncertainties that are not presently known to it, or that it currently deems immaterial, which may also impair Astra’s business or financial condition. The following discussion should be read in conjunction with the Company's condensed consolidated financial statements of Astra and notes to the Company's condensed consolidated financial statements in this quarterly report on Form 10-Q.
Concurrently with the restatement of the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements as described in the Explanatory Note, the following risk factors were either modified or added. The risk factor titled “We have identified material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting and may identify additional material weaknesses in the future or otherwise fail to maintain an effective system of internal control, which may result in material misstatements of our financial statements or cause us to fail to meet our periodic reporting obligations” was updated and the risk factor titled “We may face litigation and other risks as a result of the material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting and the restatement of our financial statements” was added. Other than the two risk factors identified in the prior two sentences, no other changes were made to the risk factors set forth below.
Summary of Risk Factors.
A summary of the material risks affecting our business operations and financial condition include the following:
We have not yet delivered customer satellites into orbit using any of our launch vehicles or rockets, and any setbacks we may experience during our first commercial launch, planned for the second half of 2021, and our other demonstration and commercial missions and subsequent upgrades could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and operations, and could harm our reputation.
We have incurred significant losses since inception, we expect to incur losses in the future, and we may not be able to achieve or maintain profitability.
The success of our business will be highly dependent on our ability to effectively market and sell our launch services for small LEO satellites and to convert contracted revenues and our pipeline of potential contracts into actual revenues.
The market for commercial launch services for small LEO satellites is not well established, is still emerging, multiple mergers and acquisitions are shifting the market, and the market may not achieve the growth potential we expect, may grow more slowly than expected, or actions of competitors may impact access to customers.
Our ability to grow our business depends on the successful development of our launch vehicles, satellites and related technology, which is subject to many uncertainties, some of which are beyond our control.
We routinely conduct hazardous operations in manufacturing, test, and launch of our vehicles and vehicle subsystems, which could result in damage to property or persons. Unsatisfactory performance or failure of our manufacturing process, launch vehicles, satellites and related technology at launch or during operation could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operation.
We may not be able to convert our estimated $150 million in contracted revenue, or $1.2 billion in potential contracts, into actual revenue.
We have not yet tested our launch vehicles with sufficient fuel to achieve optimal orbit velocity or at a payload capacity necessary for the successful deployment of a LEO satellite.
Any delays in the development and manufacture of additional launch vehicles, satellites, and related technology may adversely impact our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
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If we are unable to adapt to and satisfy customer demands in a timely and cost-effective manner, or if we are unable to manufacture our launch vehicles at a quantity and quality that our customers demand, our ability to grow our business may suffer.
We may be unable to manage our future growth effectively, which could make it difficult to execute our business strategy.
Our prospects and operations may be adversely affected by changes in consumer preferences and economic conditions that affect demand for launch or satellite services.
Adverse publicity stemming from any incident involving us, our competitors, or our customers could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We may require substantial additional funding to finance our operations, but adequate additional financing may not be available when we need it, on acceptable terms or at all.
Certain future operational facilities will require significant expenditures in capital improvements and operating expenses to develop and foster basic levels of service required by our launch and satellite services, and the ongoing need to maintain existing operational facilities requires us to expend capital.
We currently operate from a facility on a month-to-month lease.
Regulatory, availability, and other challenges may delay our progress in establishing the number of launch sites we require for our targeted annual launch rate, which could have an adverse effect on our ability to grow our business.
We rely on a limited number of suppliers for certain raw materials and supplied components. We may not be able to obtain sufficient raw materials or supplied components to meet our manufacturing and operating needs, or obtain such materials on favorable terms, which could impair our ability to fulfill our orders in a timely manner or increase our costs of production.
Failure of third-party contractors and suppliers could adversely affect our business.
We expect to face intense competition in the commercial space market and other industries in which we may operate.
We may in the future invest significant resources in developing new service offerings and exploring the application of our proprietary technologies for other uses and those opportunities may never materialize.
If we fail to adequately protect our proprietary intellectual property rights, our competitive position could be impaired and we may lose valuable assets, generate reduced revenue and incur costly litigation to protect our rights.
Protecting and defending against intellectual property claims may have a material adverse effect on our business.
The majority of our customer contracts may be terminated by the customer at any time for convenience as well as other provisions permitting the customer to discontinue contract performance for cause (for example, if we do not achieve certain milestones on a timely basis). If our contracts are terminated or if we experience any other contract-related risks, our results of operations may be adversely impacted. In addition, some of our customers are government entities, which subjects us to additional risks including early termination, audits, investigations, sanctions and penalties.
If we commercialize outside the United States, we will be exposed to a variety of risks associated with international operations that could materially and adversely affect our business.
Our business is subject to a wide variety of extensive and evolving government laws and regulations. Failure to comply with such laws and regulations could have a material adverse effect on our business.
We are subject to stringent U.S. export and import control laws and regulations. Unfavorable changes in these laws and regulations or U.S. government licensing policies, our failure to secure timely U.S. government authorizations under these laws and regulations, or our failure to comply with these laws and regulations, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operation.
Failure to comply with federal, state and foreign laws and regulations relating to privacy, data protection and consumer protection, or the expansion of current or the enactment of new laws or regulations relating to privacy, data protection and consumer protection, could adversely affect our business and our financial condition.
Failures in our technology infrastructure could damage our business, reputation and brand and substantially harm our business and results of operations.
We are highly dependent on our senior management team and other highly skilled personnel, and if we are not successful in attracting or retaining highly qualified personnel, we may not be able to successfully implement our business strategy.
Any acquisitions, partnerships or joint ventures that we enter into could disrupt our operations and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
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We may experience difficulties in integrating the operations of acquired companies into our business and in realizing the expected benefits of these acquisitions.
We are subject to many hazards and operational risks that can disrupt our business, including interruptions or disruptions in service at our primary facilities, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Natural disasters, unusual weather conditions, epidemic outbreaks, global health crises, terrorist acts and political events could disrupt our business and flight schedule.
Failure to maintain adequate financial, information technology and management processes and controls could result in material weaknesses which could lead to errors in our financial reporting, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations
We have identified material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting and may identify additional material weaknesses in the future or otherwise fail to maintain an effective system of internal control, which may result in material misstatements of our financial statements or cause us to fail to meet our periodic reporting obligations.
We may face litigation and other risks as a result of the material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting and the restatement of our financial statements.
Our operating results may fluctuate significantly, which makes our future operating results difficult to predict and could cause our operating results to fall below expectations or any guidance we may provide.
We may become involved in litigation that may materially adversely affect us.
We have been focused on developing launch capabilities and services since 2017. This limited operating history makes it difficult to evaluate Astra’s future prospects and the risks and challenges it may encounter.
We are subject to environmental regulation and may incur substantial costs or have operational disruptions.
The COVID-19 pandemic has and could continue to negatively affect various aspects of our business, make it more difficult for us to meet our obligations to our customers, and result in reduced demand for our products and services, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, or cash flows.
Changes in tax laws or regulations may increase tax uncertainty and adversely affect results of our operations and our effective tax rate.
The dual class structure of our common stock has the effect of concentrating voting power with our Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder, which limits an investor’s ability to influence the outcome of important transactions, including a change in control.
We cannot predict the impact our dual class structure may have on the stock price of our Class A common stock.
Delaware law and provisions in our certificate of incorporation and bylaws could make a takeover proposal more difficult.
Certain of our warrants are accounted for as liabilities and the changes in value of such warrants could have a material effect on our financial results.
A failure of our information technology systems, physical or electronic security protections, or an interruption in their operation due to internal or external factors including cyber-attacks or insider threats, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.
Astra needs to meet multiple security requirements in order to meet ongoing requirements for participation in government contracts. The inability to meet regulatory requirements or security standards may mean a failure to win contracts, receive security clearance certifications, and loss of current and future business.
The increase in non-US sales could lead to incidents in violation of US and international anti-corruption laws.
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Detailed Description of Risk Factors.
Risk Factors Relating to Our Operations and Business
We have not yet delivered customer satellites into orbit using any of our launch vehicles or rockets, and any setbacks we may experience during our first commercial launch, planned for the second half of 2021, and our other demonstration and commercial missions and subsequent upgrades could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and operations, and could harm our reputation.
The success of our launch and satellite services business will depend on our ability to successfully and regularly deliver customer satellites into orbit. In December 2020, we successfully launched Rocket 3.2 to an altitude of 380 km and demonstrated orbital launch capability. Our data from this launch suggest that only minor adjustments are necessary to achieve sufficient orbital velocity to successfully inject a satellite into orbit. Our first expected commercial launch in the second half of 2021 will be a demonstration mission in which our launch vehicle is expected to achieve sufficient velocity to launch a Low Earth Orbit (“LEO”) satellite into space for the first time and will serve as an opportunity to learn from the experience and to make further refinements to the design and manufacturing processes used to construct our launch vehicles and rockets. The success of our strategy also depends on our ability to successfully upgrade our rockets, launch vehicles, satellites, and related technology which may require significant adjustments to the design, manufacturing process and performance to achieve intended technological and performance goals.
There is no guarantee that our planned commercial launches in the second half of 2021 or subsequent commercial launches thereafter, will be successful. While we have built operational processes to ensure that the design, manufacture, performance and servicing of our launch vehicles and rockets meet rigorous performance goals, there can be no assurance that we will not experience operational or process failures and other problems during our first commercial launch or any planned launches thereafter. Any failures or setbacks, particularly on our first commercial launches, could harm our reputation and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operation. When we use the phrase “commercial launch,” here and elsewhere in this quarterly report on Form 10-Q, we mean a launch conducted under a FAA commercial launch license.
We have incurred significant losses since inception, we expect to incur losses in the future, and we may not be able to achieve or maintain profitability.
We have incurred significant losses since our inception. We incurred net losses of $190.3 million and $20.8 million for the six months ended June 30, 2021 and 2020, respectively. While we have generated limited revenue to date, we have not yet started commercial launch activities, and it is difficult for us to predict our future operating results. As a result, our losses may be larger than anticipated, and we may not achieve profitability when expected, or at all, and even if we do, we may not be able to maintain or increase profitability.
We expect our operating expenses to increase over the next several years as we commence commercial launch activities, continue to refine and streamline our design and manufacturing processes for our launch vehicles, increase the payload of our rockets, make technical improvements, increase our flight cadence, hire additional employees and continue research and development efforts relating to new products and technologies, including our Satellite Services business. These efforts may be more costly than we expect and may not result in increased revenue or growth in our business. Any failure to increase our revenue sufficiently to keep pace with our investments and other expenses could prevent us from achieving or maintaining profitability or positive cash flow. Furthermore, if our future growth and operating performance fail to meet investor or analyst expectations, or if we have future negative cash flow or losses resulting from our investment in acquiring customers or expanding our operations, this could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
The success of our business will be highly dependent on our ability to effectively market and sell our launch services for small LEO satellites and to convert contracted revenues and our pipeline of potential contracts into actual revenues.
We expect that our success will be highly dependent, especially in the foreseeable future, on our ability to effectively forecast, market and sell our launch services for small LEO satellites. We have limited experience in forecasting, marketing and selling these services, and if we are unable to use our current or future sales organization effectively in order to adequately target and engage our potential customers, our business may be adversely affected.
We also expect that our success will be highly dependent on our ability to convert contracted revenues and our pipeline of potential contracts into actual revenues. Ahead of the planned commencement of our commercial launch operations in 2021, we have received interest from a wide range of customers across various satellite applications or use cases. As of June 30, 2021, we estimate that our contracted revenue is worth approximately $150 million and continues to increase, while our pipeline consists of approximately $1.2 billion in potential contracts in negotiation or early discussions. Our contracted revenues and our estimated pipeline may not fully convert into actual revenues because certain of our customers have the right to terminate their contracts if we do not achieve certain milestones. We may not meet these milestones, in which case the value of our contracted revenues may be significantly lower than our
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current estimates. Additionally, if we are unable to keep up with the demand for our launch services from a production and delivery perspective, we may not be in a position to deliver on our contracted revenues or our pipeline of potential contracts.
We remain in active discussions with potential customers and anticipate an increase in contracted revenue as the small satellite and satellite constellation markets continue to develop. Our success depends, in part, on our ability to attract new customers in a cost-effective manner. Notwithstanding our estimated contracted revenue, we expect that we will need to make significant investments in order to attract new customers. Our sales growth is dependent upon our ability to implement strategic initiatives, and these initiatives may not be effective in generating sales growth. In addition, marketing campaigns, which we have not historically utilized, can be expensive and may not result in the acquisition of customers in a cost-effective manner, if at all. Further, as our brand becomes more widely known, future marketing campaigns or brand content may not attract new customers at the same rate as past campaigns or brand content. If we are unable to attract new customers, our business, financial condition and results of operations will be harmed.
The market for commercial launch services for small LEO satellites is not well established, is still emerging, multiple mergers and acquisitions are shifting the market, and the market may not achieve the growth potential we expect, may grow more slowly than expected, or actions of competitors may impact access to customers.
The market for in-space infrastructure services, in particular, commercial launch services for small LEO satellites, has not been well established and is still emerging, merging and shifting, with many players acting as customers, prime contractors, or acquirers, or target of acquisitions. Our estimates for the total addressable launch market and satellite market are based on a number of internal and third-party estimates, including our contracted revenue, the number of potential customers who have expressed interest in our launch services, assumed prices and production costs for our launch vehicles, assumed flight cadence, our ability to leverage our current manufacturing and operational processes and general market conditions. While we believe our assumptions and the data underlying our estimates are reasonable at this date and time, these assumptions and estimates may not be correct and the conditions supporting our assumptions or estimates may change at any time, thereby reducing the predictive accuracy of these underlying factors. As a result, our estimates of the potential customers, annual total addressable market for our services, as well as the expected growth rate for the total addressable market for our services, may prove to be incorrect. Further should any of our customers be acquired by one of our competitors that could impact our future revenue and prospects as those customers may decide not to continue to purchase our launch services.
Our ability to grow our business depends on the successful development of our launch vehicles, satellites and related technology, which is subject to many uncertainties, some of which are beyond our control.
Our current primary research and development objectives focus on the development of our existing and any additional launch vehicles, launch facilities and capabilities, small satellite bus and integration capabilities 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 satellite 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 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, including travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic;
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 COVID-19 pandemic on us, our customers, suppliers and distributors, and the global economy.
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We routinely conduct hazardous operations in manufacturing, test, and launch of our vehicles and vehicle subsystems, which could result in damage to property or persons. Unsatisfactory performance or failure of our manufacturing process, launch vehicles, satellites and related technology at launch or during operation could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operation.
We manufacture and operate highly sophisticated launch vehicles 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 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. 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 operation.
We may not be able to convert our estimated $150 million in contracted revenue, or $1.2 billion in potential contracts, into actual revenue.
We expect that our success will be highly dependent on our ability to convert contracted revenues and our pipeline of potential contracts into actual revenues. As of June 30, 2021, we estimate that our contracted revenue is worth approximately $150 million and continues to increase, while our pipeline consists of approximately $1.2 billion in potential contracts in negotiation or early discussions. Our contracted revenues and our estimated pipeline may not fully convert into actual revenues because certain of our customers have the right to terminate their contracts if we do not achieve certain milestones, or other termination rights. We may not meet these milestones, in which case the value of our contracted revenues may be significantly lower than our current estimates. We remain in active discussions with potential customers and anticipate an increase in contracted revenue as the small satellite and satellite constellation markets continue to develop. We expect that following the successful delivery of customer payloads on our first several commercial launches, our existing and new customers will continue to use us on the further rollout of their satellite constellations.
Some of our existing customer contracts include provisions allowing the customers to terminate the contracts for convenience, with a termination penalty for at least the amounts already paid, or to terminate the contracts for cause (for example, if we do not achieve certain milestones on a timely basis). If any of our significant customer contracts are terminated and not replaced, our results of operations may differ materially and adversely from those anticipated. In addition, our contracts with government customers often contain provisions with additional rights and remedies favorable to such customers that are not typically found in commercial contracts. As a result, we may not receive revenue from these orders, and any contracted revenue we report may not be indicative of our future actual revenue.
Many events may cause a delay in our ability to fulfill our existing or future orders, or cause planned launches to not be completed at all, some of which may be out of our control, including unexpected weather patterns, maintenance issues, natural disasters, changes in governmental regulations or in the status of our regulatory approvals or applications or other events that force us to cancel or reschedule launches, which could have an adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We have not yet tested our launch vehicles with sufficient fuel to achieve optimal orbit velocity or at a payload capacity necessary for the successful deployment of a LEO satellite.
In December 2020, we successfully launched Rocket 3.2 to an altitude of 380 km, demonstrating orbital launch capability. Our data shows that the rocket’s hardware and software performed well, and that only minor adjustments were required to achieve sufficient orbital velocity to successfully inject a satellite into orbit. We are currently planning our first commercial launches for the second half of 2021 with this adjustment made. Although our December 2020 launch was viewed as a success, we may not be successful in reaching space and achieving sufficient orbital velocity during our launches planned for the second half of 2021. If we fail to demonstrate our ability to successfully inject a satellite into orbit, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely impacted.
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As part of our strategy, we plan to increase the maximum payload capacity of our rocket from approximately 50 kg in 2021 to up to 500 kg for a mid-inclination 500 km orbit by late 2023, which would make us a more compelling alternative for LEO constellation deployment and satellite replenishment. This payload capacity improvement will come from numerous improvements, enhancements and modifications to our rocket. We may not be successful in our efforts to make improvements to our rocket to achieve the full increase in payload capacity, and if we are unable to demonstrate our ability launch heavier satellites to LEO, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely impacted.
Any delays in the development and manufacture of additional launch vehicles, satellites, and related technology may adversely impact our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
We have previously experienced, and may experience in the future, delays or other complications in the design, manufacture, launch, production, delivery and servicing ramp of new launch vehicles, satellites and related technology. If delays like this arise or recur, if our remediation measures and process changes do not continue to be successful or if we experience issues with planned manufacturing improvements or design and safety, we could experience issues in sustaining the ramp of our spaceflight system or delays in increasing production further.
If we encounter difficulties in scaling our delivery or servicing capabilities, if we fail to develop and successfully commercialize our launch vehicles, satellites and related technologies, if we fail to develop such technologies before our competitors, or if such technologies fail to perform as expected, are inferior to those of our competitors or are perceived as less safe than those of our competitors, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely impacted.
If we are unable to adapt to and satisfy customer demands in a timely and cost-effective manner, or if we are unable to manufacture our launch vehicles at a quantity and quality that our customers demand, our ability to grow our business may suffer.
The success of our business depends in part on effectively managing and maintaining our commercial launch services, manufacturing additional launch vehicles and satellites, conducting a sufficient number of launches to meet customer demand and providing customers with an experience that meets or exceeds their expectations. Even if we succeed in developing launch vehicles consistent with our targeted timeline, we could thereafter fail to develop the ability to produce these vehicles at quantity with a quality management system that ensures that each unit performs as required. Any delay in our ability to produce launch vehicles at rate and with a reliable quality management system could have a material adverse on our business.
If our current or future launch services do not meet expected performance or quality standards, including with respect to customer safety and satisfaction, this could cause operational delays. Further, launch operations within restricted airspace requires advance scheduling and coordination with government agencies and range owners and other users, and any high priority national defense assets will have priority in the use of these resources, which may impact our cadence of our launch operations or could result in cancellations, launch facility transfers, additional costs or rescheduling. Any operational or manufacturing delays or other unplanned changes to our ability to conduct our launches could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We may be unable to manage our future growth effectively, which could make it difficult to execute our business strategy.
If our operations continue to grow as planned, of which there can be no assurance, we will need to expand our sales and marketing, research and development, customer and commercial strategy, products and services, supply, and manufacturing and distribution functions. We will also need to continue to leverage our manufacturing and operational systems and processes, and there is no guarantee that we will be able to scale the business and the manufacture of spacecraft as currently planned or within the planned timeframe. The continued expansion of our business may also require additional manufacturing and operational facilities, as well as space for administrative support, and there is no guarantee that we will be able to find suitable locations or partners for the manufacture and operation of our launch vehicles.
Our continued growth could increase the strain on our resources, and we could experience operating difficulties, including difficulties in hiring, training and managing an increasing number of employees, finding manufacturing capacity to produce our launch vehicles, rockets and related equipment, and delays in production and launches. These difficulties may result in the erosion of our brand image, divert the attention of management and key employees and impact financial and operational results. In addition, in order to continue to expand our presence around the globe, we expect to incur substantial expenses as we continue to attempt to streamline our manufacturing process, increase our launch cadence, hire more employees, and continue research and development efforts relating to new products and technologies and expand internationally. If we are unable to drive commensurate growth, these costs, which include lease commitments, headcount and capital assets, could result in decreased margins, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
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Our prospects and operations may be adversely affected by changes in consumer preferences and economic conditions that affect demand for launch or satellite services.
Because our business is currently concentrated on commercial launch and satellite services, we are vulnerable to changes in consumer preferences or other market changes. The global economy has in the past, and will in the future, experience recessionary periods and periods of economic instability. During such periods, our potential customers may choose not to expend the amounts that we anticipate based on our expectations with respect to the addressable market for launch and satellite services. There could be a number of other effects from adverse general business and economic conditions on our business, including insolvency of any of our third-party suppliers or contractors, decreased consumer confidence, decreased discretionary spending and reduced customer or governmental demand for LEO launch vehicles and satellites, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Adverse publicity stemming from any incident involving us, our competitors, or our customers could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We are at risk of adverse publicity stemming from any public incident involving our company, our people, or our brand, or our competitors or customers. If our launch vehicles or satellites, those of one of our competitors, or satellites of our customers were to be involved in a public incident, accident, or catastrophe, this could create an adverse public perception of satellite launch or manufacturing activities and result in decreased customer demand for launch and satellite services, which could cause a material adverse effect on our business, financial conditions, and results of operations. Further, if our launch vehicles or rockets were to be involved in a public incident, accident, or catastrophe, we could be exposed to significant reputational harm or potential legal liability. Any reputational harm to our business or industry could cause customers with existing contracts with us to cancel their contracts and could significantly impact our ability to make future sales. The insurance we carry may be inapplicable or inadequate to cover any such incident, accident or catastrophe. In the event that our insurance is inapplicable or not adequate, we may be forced to bear substantial losses from such incident, adverse media, or accident.
We may require substantial additional funding to finance our operations, but adequate additional financing may not be available when we need it, on acceptable terms or at all.
Since our inception, we have financed our operations and capital expenditures primarily through raising venture equity. In the future, we could be required to raise capital through public or private financing or other arrangements. Such financing may not be available on acceptable terms, or at all, and our failure to raise capital when needed could harm our business. We may sell equity securities or debt securities in one or more transactions at prices and in a manner as we may determine from time to time. If we sell any such securities in subsequent transactions, our current investors may be materially diluted. Any debt financing, if available, may involve restrictive covenants, could have pre-payment penalties and could reduce our operational flexibility or profitability. We may be required to delay, limit, reduce or terminate our development activities or future commercialization efforts. If we are unable to generate such additional funding, or if we are unable to do so on favorable terms, we may not be able to meet our liquidity needs and ultimately generate positive cash flows on our anticipated timeline or at all.
Certain future operational facilities will require significant expenditures in capital improvements and operating expenses to develop and foster basic levels of service required by our launch and satellite services, and the ongoing need to maintain existing operational facilities requires us to expend capital.
We operate out of our headquarters in Alameda, California, which consists of approximately 285,000 square feet leased from the City of Alameda. The campus includes two primary buildings. This includes the Skyhawk Development and Production Facility, with a fully built out machine shop, production facilities, and offices for administrative responsibilities as well as research and development, and the Orion Engine Testing Facility for rocket engine testing, research, and development that was originally constructed by the U.S. Navy for jet engine testing. As part of our growth strategy, we anticipate finishing out additional space in the Skyhawk Development and Production Facility to support the continued ramp up of the Launch Services business, as well as the build out of facilities for the Satellite Services business. In addition, we currently operate a launch site at the Pacific Spaceport Complex in Kodiak, Alaska, and we plan to add additional launch sites as we increase the frequency of launches.
The building out of our Alameda campus and the construction of additional launch sites may require significant capital expenditures to develop, and in the future we may be required to make similar expenditures to expand, improve or construct adequate facilities for our launch services. In addition, there is no guarantee that we will be able to secure a long-term lease from the City of Alameda for our Alameda campus. In addition, as our Alameda campus and any other facilities we may utilize mature, our business will require capital expenditures for the maintenance, renovation and improvement of such existing locations to remain competitive. This creates an ongoing need for capital, and, to the extent we cannot fund capital expenditures from cash flows from operations, we will need to borrow or otherwise obtain funds. If we cannot access the capital we need, we may not be able to execute on our growth strategy, take advantage of future opportunities or respond to competitive pressures. If the costs of funding new locations or renovations or
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enhancements at existing locations exceed budgeted amounts or the time for building or renovation is longer than anticipated, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially adversely affected.
We currently operate from a facility on a month-to-month lease.
The long-term lease for our headquarters in Alameda, California expired pending negotiations with the landlord, the City of Alameda. Following the expiration of our lease, we are currently operating with separate month-to-month leases applicable to each of the buildings on our Alameda campus, with letters of intent and license agreements in place with the city permitting us to occupy our existing facilities while we work to negotiate a long-term lease for the campus. While the City of Alameda has been a reliable lessor to date, we cannot assure that such arrangements will be available to us on terms similar to those we have with the City of Alameda moving forward or at all, or that our negotiations with the City of Alameda for a long-term lease will be successful. If we cannot ultimately secure a long-term lease with the City of Alameda, we would need to continue to operate with the uncertainty associated with short term leasing arrangements, and may need to utilize cash resources from operations or raise additional capital in order to construct additional facilities in other locations. In the event we need to vacate our premises, we would need to secure other premises which could adversely impact employees, company operations, meeting customer deadlines and scheduling of our commercial rocket launches.
Regulatory, availability, and other challenges may delay our progress in establishing the number of launch sites we require for our targeted annual launch rate, which could have an adverse effect on our ability to grow our business.
Part of our strategy involves increasing our launch cadence and approaching a daily launch cadence by 2025. Our ability to achieve a near-daily launch cadence by 2025 will depend on our ability to add new launch sites. We currently operate a launch site at the Pacific Spaceport Complex in Kodiak, Alaska, and we expect to enter into a variety of arrangements to secure additional launch sites, which may include ownership, leasing, licensing, and permitting in the United States and outside the United States. We have in the past and may in the future experience delays in our efforts to secure additional launch sites around the globe. Challenges as a result of regulatory processes or in our ability to secure the necessary permissions to establish these launch sites could delay our ability to achieve our target cadence and could adversely affect our business.
We rely on a limited number of suppliers for certain raw materials and supplied components. We may not be able to obtain sufficient raw materials or supplied components to meet our manufacturing and operating needs, or obtain such materials on favorable terms, which could impair our ability to fulfill our orders in a timely manner or increase our costs of production.
Our ability to manufacture our launch vehicles is dependent upon sufficient availability of raw materials and supplied components, which we secure from a limited number of suppliers. Our reliance on suppliers to secure these raw materials and supplied components exposes us to volatility in the prices and availability of these materials. We may not be able to obtain sufficient supply of raw materials or supplied components, on favorable terms or at all, which could result in delays in manufacture of our spacecraft or increased costs.
In addition, we have in the past and may in the future experience delays in manufacture or operation as we go through the requalification process with any replacement third-party supplier, as well as the limitations imposed by International Traffic in Arms Regulations ("ITAR") and other restrictions on transfer of sensitive technologies. Additionally, the imposition of tariffs on such raw materials or supplied components could have a material adverse effect on our operations. Prolonged disruptions in the supply of any of our key raw materials or components, difficulty qualifying new sources of supply, implementing use of replacement materials or new sources of supply or any volatility in prices could have a material adverse effect on our ability to operate in a cost-efficient, timely manner and could cause us to experience cancellations or delays of scheduled launches, customer cancellations or reductions in our prices and margins, any of which could harm our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Failure of third-party contractors and suppliers could adversely affect our business.
We are dependent on various third-party contractors and suppliers to develop and provide certain of our components of our launch vehicles. Should we experience complications with any of these components, which are critical to the operation of our launch vehicle, we may need to delay our manufacturing activities or delay or cancel scheduled launches. We face the risk that any of our contractors and suppliers may not fulfill their contracts and deliver their products or services on a timely basis, or at all. We have in the past experienced, and may in the future experience, operational complications with our contractors and suppliers. The ability of our contractors and suppliers to effectively satisfy our requirements could also be impacted by such contractors’ and suppliers' financial difficulty or damage to their operations caused by fire, terrorist attack, natural disaster or other events. The failure of any contractors and suppliers to perform to our expectations could result in shortages of certain manufacturing or operational components for our spacecraft or delays in spaceflights and harm our business. Our reliance on contractors and suppliers and inability to fully control any operational difficulties with our third-party contractors and suppliers could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
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We expect to face intense competition in the commercial space market and other industries in which we may operate.
We face intense competition in the commercial space market and amongst our competitors. Currently, our primary competitors in the commercial launch market are SpaceX, RocketLab, United Launch Alliance, and Arianespace. In addition, we are aware of a significant number of entities actively engaged in developing commercial launch capabilities for small and medium sized payloads, including Virgin Orbit, Relativity, ABL, and Firefly, among others. Many of our current and potential competitors are larger and have substantially greater financial or other resources than we currently have or expect to have in the future, and thus may be better positioned to exploit the market need for small payloads and targeted orbital delivery, which is the focus of our business. They may also be able to devote greater resources to the development of their current and future technologies, which could overlap with our technologies, or the promotion and sale of their products and services. Our competitors could offer small launch vehicles at lower prices, which could undercut our business strategy and potential competitive edge. Our current and potential competitors may also establish cooperative or strategic relationships amongst themselves or with third parties that may further enhance their resources and offerings relative to ours. Further, it is possible that domestic or foreign companies or governments, some with greater experience in the aerospace industry or greater financial resources than we possess, will seek to provide products or services that compete directly or indirectly with ours in the future. Any such foreign competitor, for example, could benefit from subsidies from, or other protective measures by, its home country.
We believe our ability to compete successfully as a commercial provider of launch and satellite services does and will depend on number of factors, which may change in the future due to increased competition, including the price of our products and services, consumer satisfaction for the experiences we offer, and the frequency and availability of our products and services. If we are unable to compete successfully, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected.
We may in the future invest significant resources in developing new service offerings and exploring the application of our proprietary technologies for other uses and those opportunities may never materialize.
While our primary focus for the foreseeable future will be on commencing our commercial launch activities, increasing our launch cadence, increasing the payload of our rockets, commercializing our Spaceport Services business and launching our commercial Satellite Services offerings, we may also invest significant resources in developing new technologies, services, products and offerings. However, we may not realize the expected benefits of these investments. These anticipated technologies, however, are unproven and these products or technologies may never materialize or be commercialized in a way that would allow us to generate ancillary revenue streams. Relatedly, if such technologies become viable offerings in the future, we may be subject to competition from our competitors within the commercial launch and satellite industries, some of which may have substantially greater monetary and knowledge resources than we have and expect to have in the future to devote to the development of these technologies. Such competition or any limitations on our ability to take advantage of such technologies could impact our market share, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Such research and development initiatives may also have a high degree of risk and involve unproven business strategies and technologies with which we have limited operating or development experience. They may involve claims and liabilities (including, but not limited to, personal injury claims), expenses, regulatory challenges and other risks that we may not be able to anticipate. There can be no assurance that customer demand for such initiatives will exist or be sustained at the levels that we anticipate, or that any of these initiatives will gain sufficient traction or market acceptance to generate sufficient revenue to offset any new expenses or liabilities associated with these new investments. Further, any such research and development efforts could distract management from current operations, and would divert capital and other resources from our more established offerings and technologies. Even if we were to be successful in developing new products, services, offerings or technologies, regulatory authorities may subject us to new rules or restrictions in response to our innovations that may increase our expenses or prevent us from successfully commercializing new products, services, offerings or technologies.
If we fail to adequately protect our proprietary intellectual property rights, our competitive position could be impaired and we may lose valuable assets, generate reduced revenue and incur costly litigation to protect our rights.
Our success depends, in part, on our ability to protect our proprietary intellectual property rights, including certain methodologies, practices, tools, technologies and technical expertise we utilize in designing, developing, implementing and maintaining applications and processes used in our launch systems and related technologies. To date, we have relied primarily on trade secrets and other intellectual property laws, non-disclosure agreements with our employees, consultants and other relevant persons, and other measures to protect our intellectual property, and intend to continue to rely on these and other means, including patent protection. However, the steps we take to protect our intellectual property may be inadequate, and we may choose not to pursue or maintain protection for our intellectual property in the United States or foreign jurisdictions. We will not be able to protect our intellectual property if we are unable to enforce our rights or if we do not detect unauthorized use of our intellectual property. Despite our precautions, it may be possible for unauthorized third parties to copy our technology and use information that we regard as proprietary to create technology that competes with ours.
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Further, the laws of some countries do not protect proprietary rights to the same extent as the laws of the United States, and mechanisms for enforcement of intellectual property rights in some foreign countries may be inadequate. To the extent we expand our international activities, our exposure to unauthorized copying and use of our technologies and proprietary information may increase. Accordingly, despite our efforts, we may be unable to prevent third parties from infringing upon, misappropriating or otherwise violating our technology and intellectual property.
We rely in part on trade secrets, proprietary know-how and other confidential information to maintain our competitive position. Although we enter into non-disclosure and invention assignment agreements with our employees, enter into non-disclosure agreements with our customers, consultants and other parties with whom we have strategic relationships and business alliances and enter into intellectual property assignment agreements with our consultants and vendors, no assurance can be given that these agreements will be effective in controlling access to and distribution of our technology and proprietary information. Further, these agreements do not prevent our competitors from independently developing technologies that are substantially equivalent or superior to our products.
Protecting and defending against intellectual property claims may have a material adverse effect on our business.
Our success depends in part upon successful prosecution, maintenance, enforcement and protection of our owned and licensed intellectual property.
To protect our intellectual property rights, we may be required to spend significant resources to monitor and protect these rights. Litigation may be necessary in the future to enforce our intellectual property rights and to protect our trade secrets. Such litigation could be costly, time consuming and distracting to management and could result in the impairment or loss of portions of our intellectual property. Furthermore, our efforts to enforce our intellectual property rights may be met with defenses, counterclaims and countersuits attacking the validity and enforceability of our intellectual property rights. Our inability to protect our proprietary technology, as well as any costly litigation or diversion of our management’s attention and resources, could disrupt our business, as well as have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations. The results of intellectual property litigation are difficult to predict and may require us to stop using certain technologies or offering certain services or may result in significant damage awards or settlement costs. There is no guarantee that any action to defend, maintain or enforce our owned or licensed intellectual property rights will be successful, and an adverse result in any such proceeding could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition, operating results and prospects.
In addition, we may from time-to-time face allegations that we are infringing, misappropriating or otherwise violating the intellectual property rights of third parties, including the intellectual property rights of our competitors. We may be unaware of the intellectual property rights that others may claim cover some or all of our technology or services. Irrespective of the validity of any such claims, we could incur significant costs and diversion of resources in defending against them, and there is no guarantee any such defense would be successful, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, contracts, financial condition, operating results, liquidity and prospects.
Even if these matters do not result in litigation or are resolved in our favor or without significant cash settlements, these matters, and the time and resources necessary to litigate or resolve them, could divert the time and resources of our management team and harm our business, our operating results and our reputation.
The majority of our customer contracts may be terminated by the customer at any time for convenience as well as other provisions permitting the customer to discontinue contract performance for cause (for example, if we do not achieve certain milestones on a timely basis). If our contracts are terminated or if we experience any other contract-related risks, our results of operations may be adversely impacted. In addition, some of our customers are government entities, which subjects us to additional risks including early termination, audits, investigations, sanctions and penalties.
We are subject to a variety of contract-related risks. Some of our existing customer contracts, including those with the government, include provisions allowing the customers to terminate their contracts for convenience, with a termination penalty for at least the amounts already paid, or to terminate the contracts for cause (for example, if we do not achieve certain milestones on a timely basis). Customers that terminate such contracts may also be entitled to a pro rata refund of the amount of the customer’s deposit. In addition, some of our customers are pre-revenue startups or otherwise not fully established companies, which exposes us to a degree of counterparty credit risk.
Part of our strategy is to market our Launch Services and Spaceport Services to key government customers. We aim to sign an initial contract to construct and operate a spaceport for a European government customer. We expect we may derive limited revenue from contracts with National Aeronautics and Space Administration ("NASA") and the U.S. government and may enter into further contracts with the U.S. or foreign governments in the future, and this subjects us to statutes and regulations applicable to companies doing business with the U.S. government, including the Federal Acquisition Regulation ("FAR"). These U.S. government contracts customarily contain provisions that give the government substantial rights and remedies, many of which are not typically found in
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commercial contracts and which are unfavorable to contractors. For instance, most U.S. government agencies include provisions that allow the government to unilaterally terminate or modify contracts for convenience, in which case the counterparty to the contract may generally recover only its incurred or committed costs and settlement expenses and profit on work completed prior to the termination. If the government terminates a contract for default, the defaulting party may be liable for any extra costs incurred by the government in procuring undelivered items from another source.
Our government contracts may be subject to the approval of appropriations being made by the U.S. Congress to fund the expenditures under these contracts. In addition, government contracts normally contain additional requirements that may increase our costs of doing business, reduce our profits, and expose us to liability for failure to comply with these terms and conditions. These requirements include, for example:
specialized disclosure and accounting requirements unique to government contracts;
financial and compliance audits that may result in potential liability for price adjustments, recoupment of government funds after such funds have been spent, civil and criminal penalties, or administrative sanctions such as suspension or debarment from doing business with the U.S. government;
public disclosures of certain contract and company information; and
mandatory socioeconomic compliance requirements, including labor requirements, non-discrimination and affirmative action programs and environmental compliance requirements.
Government contracts are also generally subject to greater scrutiny by the government, which can initiate reviews, audits and investigations regarding our compliance with government contract requirements. In addition, if we fail to comply with government contract laws, regulations and contract requirements, our contracts may be subject to termination, and we may be subject to financial and/or other liability under our contracts, the Federal Civil False Claims Act (including treble damages and other penalties), or criminal law. In particular, the False Claims Act’s “whistleblower” provisions also allow private individuals, including present and former employees, to sue on behalf of the U.S. government. Any penalties, damages, fines, suspension, or damages could adversely affect our ability to operate our business and our financial results.
If any customer were to unexpectedly terminate, cancel, or decline to exercise an option to renew with respect to one or more of our significant contracts for any reason, including as a result of our failure to meet certain performance milestones, or if a government customer were to suspend or debar us from doing business with such government, our business, financial condition, and results of operations would be materially harmed.
If we commercialize outside the United States, we will be exposed to a variety of risks associated with international operations that could materially and adversely affect our business.
As part of our growth strategy for our Launch Services and Spaceport Services businesses, we aim to construct and operate launch sites outside of the United States. We aim to continue to build our pipeline of spaceport opportunities and develop additional locations. As we expand internationally, we expect that we would be subject to additional risks related to entering into international business relationships, including:
restructuring our operations to comply with local regulatory regimes;
identifying, hiring and training highly skilled personnel;
unexpected changes in tariffs, trade barriers and regulatory requirements, including through the ITAR, Export Administration Regulations ("EAR"), and Office of Foreign Assets Control ("OFAC");
economic weakness, including inflation, or political instability in foreign economies and markets;
compliance with tax, employment, immigration and labor laws for employees living or traveling abroad;
foreign taxes, including withholding of payroll taxes;
the need for U.S. government approval to operate our spaceflight systems outside the United States;
foreign currency fluctuations, which could result in increased operating expenses and reduced revenue;
government appropriation of assets;
workforce uncertainty in countries where labor unrest is more common than in the United States; and
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disadvantages of competing against companies from countries that are not subject to U.S. laws and regulations, including the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, OFAC regulations and U.S. anti-money laundering regulations, as well as exposure of our foreign operations to liability under these regulatory regimes.
Our business is subject to a wide variety of extensive and evolving government laws and regulations. Failure to comply with such laws and regulations could have a material adverse effect on our business.
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 Federal Aviation Administration ("FAA"), and review by other agencies of the U.S. Government, including the Department of Defense, Department of State, NASA, and Federal Communications Commission (“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.
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 are subject to stringent U.S. export and import control laws and regulations. Unfavorable changes in these laws and regulations or U.S. government licensing policies, our failure to secure timely U.S. government authorizations under these laws and regulations, or our failure to comply with these laws and regulations, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operation.
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
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end uses. If we are found to be in violation of these laws and regulations, it could result in civil and criminal, monetary and non-monetary penalties, the loss of export or import privileges, debarment and reputational harm.
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.
Failure to comply with federal, state and foreign laws and regulations relating to privacy, data protection and consumer protection, or the expansion of current or the enactment of new laws or regulations relating to privacy, data protection and consumer protection, could adversely affect our business and our financial condition.
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.
As we expand our international presence, we may also become subject to additional privacy rules, many of which, such as the General Data Protection Regulation promulgated by the European Union (the “GDPR”) and national laws supplementing the GDPR, such as in the United Kingdom, and similar laws in other countries which are significantly more stringent than those currently enforced in the United States. The law requires companies to meet stringent requirements regarding the handling of personal data of individuals located in the European Economic Area, or EEA. These more stringent requirements include expanded disclosures to inform customers about how we may use their personal data through external privacy notices, increased controls on profiling customers and increased rights for data subjects (including customers and employees) to access, control and delete their personal data. In addition, there are mandatory data breach notification requirements. The law also includes significant penalties for non-compliance, which may result in monetary penalties of up to the higher of €20.0 million or 4% of a group’s worldwide turnover for the preceding financial year for the most serious violations. The GDPR and other similar regulations require companies to give specific types of notice and informed consent is required for the placement of a cookie or similar technologies on a user’s device for online tracking for behavioral advertising and other purposes and for direct electronic marketing, and the GDPR also imposes additional conditions in order to satisfy such consent,
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such as a prohibition on pre-checked tick boxes and bundled consents, thereby requiring customers to affirmatively consent for a given purpose through separate tick boxes or other affirmative action.
A significant data breach or any failure, or perceived failure, by us to comply with any federal, state or foreign privacy or consumer protection-related laws, regulations or other principles or orders to which we may be subject or other legal obligations relating to privacy or consumer protection could adversely affect our reputation, brand and business, and may result in claims, investigations, proceedings or actions against us by governmental entities or others or other penalties or liabilities or require us to change our operations and/or cease using certain data sets. Depending on the nature of the information compromised, we may also have obligations to notify users, law enforcement or payment companies about the incident and may need to provide some form of remedy, such as refunds, for the individuals affected by the incident.
Failures in our technology infrastructure could damage our business, reputation and brand and substantially harm our business and results of operations.
If our main data center were to fail, or if we were to suffer an interruption or degradation of services at our main data center, we could lose important manufacturing and technical data, which could harm our business. Our facilities are vulnerable to damage or interruption from earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, fires, cyber security attacks, terrorist attacks, power losses, telecommunications failures and similar events. In the event that our or any third-party provider’s systems or service abilities are hindered by any of the events discussed above, our ability to operate may be impaired. A decision to close the facilities without adequate notice, or other unanticipated problems, could adversely impact our operations. Any of the aforementioned risks may be augmented if our or any third-party provider’s business continuity and disaster recovery plans prove to be inadequate. The facilities also could be subject to break-ins, computer viruses, sabotage, intentional acts of vandalism and other misconduct. Any security breach, including personal data breaches, or incident, including cybersecurity incidents, that we experience could result in unauthorized access to, misuse of or unauthorized acquisition of our or our customers’ data, the loss, corruption or alteration of this data, interruptions in our operations or damage to our computer hardware or systems or those of our customers. Moreover, negative publicity arising from these types of disruptions could damage our reputation. We may not carry sufficient business interruption insurance to compensate us for losses that may occur as a result of any events that cause interruptions in our service. Significant unavailability of our services due to attacks could cause users to cease using our services and materially and adversely affect our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations.
We are highly dependent on our senior management team and other highly skilled personnel, and if we are not successful in attracting or retaining highly qualified personnel, we may not be able to successfully implement our business strategy.
Our success depends, in significant part, on the continued services of our senior management team and on our ability to attract, motivate, develop and retain a sufficient number of other highly skilled personnel, including engineers, manufacturing and quality assurance, design, finance, marketing, sales and support personnel. Our senior management team has extensive experience in the aerospace industry, and we believe that their depth of experience is instrumental to our continued success. The loss of any one or more members of our senior management team, for any reason, including resignation or retirement, could impair our ability to execute our business strategy and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Competition for qualified highly skilled personnel can be strong, and we can provide no assurance that we will be successful in attracting or retaining such personnel now or in the future. We have not yet started commercial launch operations, and our estimates of the required team size to support our estimated flight rates may require increases in staffing levels that may require significant capital expenditure. Further, any inability to recruit, develop and retain qualified employees may result in high employee turnover and may force us to pay significantly higher wages, which may harm our profitability. Additionally, we do not carry key man insurance for any of our management executives, and the loss of any key employee or our inability to recruit, develop and retain these individuals as needed, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Any acquisitions, partnerships or joint ventures that we enter into could disrupt our operations and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
From time to time, we may evaluate potential strategic acquisitions of businesses, including partnerships or joint ventures with third parties. We may not be successful in identifying acquisition, partnership and joint venture candidates. In addition, we may not be able to continue the operational success of such businesses or successfully finance or integrate any businesses that we acquire or with which we form a partnership or joint venture. We may have potential write-offs of acquired assets and/or an impairment of any goodwill recorded as a result of acquisitions. Furthermore, the integration of any acquisition may divert management’s time and resources from our core business and disrupt our operations or may result in conflicts with our business. Any acquisition, partnership or joint venture may not be successful, may reduce our cash reserves, may negatively affect our earnings and financial performance and, to the extent financed with the proceeds of debt, may increase our indebtedness. We cannot ensure that any acquisition, partnership or joint venture we make will not have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
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We may experience difficulties in integrating the operations of acquired companies into our business and in realizing the expected benefits of these acquisitions.
Acquisitions involve numerous risks, any of which could harm our business and negatively affect our financial condition and results of operations. The success of our recent acquisition of Apollo Fusion will depend in part on our ability to realize the anticipated business opportunities from combining their and our operations in an efficient and effective manner. These integration processes could take longer than anticipated and could result in the loss of key employees, the disruption of each company’s ongoing businesses, tax costs or inefficiencies, or inconsistencies in standards, controls, information technology systems, procedures and policies, any of which could adversely affect our ability to maintain relationships with customers, employees or other third parties, or our ability to achieve the anticipated benefits of the acquisitions, and could harm our financial performance. If we are unable to successfully or timely integrate the operations of Apollo Fusion with our business, we may incur unanticipated liabilities and be unable to realize the revenue growth, synergies and other anticipated benefits resulting from the acquisitions, or fully offset the costs of the acquisition, and our business, results of operations and financial condition could be materially and adversely affected.
We are subject to many hazards and operational risks that can disrupt our business, including interruptions or disruptions in service at our primary facilities, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
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 entirely 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 a launch facility in Kodiak, Alaska. 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.
Natural disasters, unusual weather conditions, epidemic outbreaks, global health crises, terrorist acts and political events could disrupt our business and flight schedule.
The occurrence of one or more natural disasters such as tornadoes, hurricanes, fires, floods and earthquakes, unusual weather conditions, epidemic outbreaks, terrorist attacks or disruptive political events in certain regions where our facilities are located, or where our third-party contractors’ and suppliers’ facilities are located, could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. Severe weather, such as rainfall, snowfall or extreme temperatures, may impact the ability of our launch services to be carried out as planned, resulting in additional expense to reschedule such service, thereby reducing our sales and profitability. Terrorist attacks, actual or threatened acts of war or the escalation of current hostilities, or any other military or trade disruptions impacting our domestic or foreign suppliers of components of our products, may impact our operations by, among other things, causing supply chain disruptions and increases in commodity prices, which could adversely affect our raw materials or transportation costs. These events also could cause or act to prolong an economic recession in the United States or abroad. To the extent these events also impact one or more of our suppliers or contractors or result in the closure of any of their facilities or our facilities, commence our commercial launch activities as planned or thereafter increase our launch cadence. In addition, the disaster recovery and business continuity plans we have in place currently are limited and are unlikely to prove adequate in the event of a serious disaster or similar event. We may incur substantial expenses as a result of the limited nature of our disaster recovery and business continuity plans and, more generally, any of these events could cause consumer confidence and spending to decrease, which could adversely impact our commercial launch operations.
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Failure to maintain adequate financial, information technology and management processes and controls could result in material weaknesses which could lead to errors in our financial reporting, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations
Astra, as an “emerging growth company”, is exempt from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s ("SEC’s") internal control over financial reporting requirements. We may lose our emerging growth company status and become subject to the SEC’s internal control over financial reporting management and auditor attestation requirements in the year in which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer, which would occur once we are subject to Exchange Act reporting requirements for 12 months, have filed at least one SEC annual report and the market value of our common equity held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the end of the prior fiscal year’s second fiscal quarter. We may not be able to complete our evaluation, testing and any required remediation in a timely fashion. In addition, our current controls and any new controls that we develop may become inadequate because of poor design and changes in our business, including increased complexity resulting from any international expansion. Any failure to implement and maintain effective internal controls over financial reporting could adversely affect the results of assessments by our independent registered public accounting firm and their attestation reports.
If we are unable to certify the effectiveness of our internal controls, or if our internal controls have material weaknesses, we may not detect errors in a timely manner, our financial statements could be misstated, we could be subject to regulatory scrutiny and a loss of confidence by stakeholders, which could harm our business, financial condition and results of operations and adversely affect the market price of our securities.
We have identified material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting and may identify additional material weaknesses in the future or otherwise fail to maintain an effective system of internal control, which may result in material misstatements of our financial statements or cause us to fail to meet our periodic reporting obligations.
As previously reported as Part I, Item 4 of our quarterly report on Form 10-Q filed with the SEC for the period ended March 31, 2021, Holicity identified the material weakness of ineffective controls over accounting for complex transactions and instruments that related to the classification of Public and Private Placement Warrants, issued in connection with Holicity’s initial public offering, as components of equity instead of as derivative liabilities. As the Public and Private Placement Warrants met the definition of a derivative as contemplated in ASC 815, the Public and Private Placement Warrants should have been recorded as derivative liabilities on the balance sheet and measured at fair value at inception and at each reporting date in accordance with ASC 820, “Fair Value Measurement”, with changes in fair value recognized in the statement of operations in the period of change.
Inclusive of the previously identified material weakness above, we identified four material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting as of and for the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2020 and as of and for the interim periods ended June 30, 2021, including the material weakness identified in connection with the restatement discussed in Note 3 to the financial statements included herein. A material weakness is a deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of our annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis. The first material weakness is related to the segregation of duties and related conflicts with respect to our information technology systems, including administrative access to our financially relevant information technology systems. The second material weakness arises from our lack of formal accounting policies and procedures during the applicable audit period, which resulted in material errors in our financial statements not being identified by management. The third material weakness relates to our process for preparing and recording journal entries within our accounting systems related thereto. The fourth material weakness relates to ineffective controls over accounting for complex transactions and instruments, including, the inaccurate application of conversion accounting related to our convertible instruments in connection with the restatement discussed in Note 3 to the financial statements included herein.
We are in the process of designing and implementing measures to improve our internal control over financial reporting to remediate the material weaknesses described above, primarily by implementing additional review procedures within our accounting and finance department, hiring additional personnel within the company’s accounting and finance function, designing and implementing information technology and application controls in our financially significant systems, providing internal resources with enhanced access to accounting literature and research materials, engaging additional external accounting experts to supplement our internal resources and increasing communication with third-party professionals with whom we consult regarding the application of accounting standards on complex transactions and instruments. While we are designing and implementing measures to remediate the material weaknesses, we cannot predict the success of such measures or the outcome of our assessment of these measures at this time. We can give no assurance that these measures will remediate the weaknesses in internal control or that additional material weaknesses or significant deficiencies in our internal control over financial reporting will not be identified in the future. Our failure to implement and maintain effective internal control over financial reporting could result in errors in our financial statements that may lead to a restatement of our financial statements or cause us to fail to meet our reporting obligations.
As a public company, we are required, pursuant to Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, to furnish a report by management on, among other things, the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting for each annual report on Form 10-K to be filed with the SEC. This assessment will require disclosure of any material weaknesses identified by our management in our internal control
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over financial reporting. If we lose our emerging growth company status, our independent registered public accounting firm will also be required to attest to the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting in each annual report on Form 10-K to be filed with the SEC. We will be required to disclose changes made in our internal control and our financial reporting procedures on a quarterly basis. To comply with the requirements of being a public company, we expect to need to undertake various actions, such as implementing new internal controls and procedures and hiring accounting or internal audit staff. Failure to comply with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act could potentially subject us to sanctions or investigations by the SEC, Nasdaq or other regulatory authorities, which would require additional financial and management resources.
We may face litigation and other risks as a result of the material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting and the restatement of our financial statements.
The Company, in consultation with the Audit Committee and Company's management, determined that it was appropriate to restate our previously filed financial statements for the Affected Periods. As part of this restatement, we identified a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting.
As a result of such material weakness and such restatement, we face potential for litigation or other disputes which may include, among others, claims invoking the federal and state securities laws, contractual claims or other claims arising from the restatement and material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting and the preparation of our financial statements. As of the date of this Form 10-Q/A, we have no knowledge of any such litigation or dispute. However, we can provide no assurance that such litigation or dispute will not arise in the future. Any such litigation or dispute, whether successful or not, could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Our operating results may fluctuate significantly, which makes our future operating results difficult to predict and could cause our operating results to fall below expectations or any guidance we may provide.
Our quarterly and annual operating results may fluctuate significantly, which makes it difficult for us to predict our future operating results. These fluctuations may occur due to a variety of factors, many of which are outside of our control, including, but not limited to:
the number of launch missions we schedule for a period, the price at which we sell them and our ability schedule additional launch missions for repeat customers;
unexpected weather patterns, maintenance issues, natural disasters or other events that force us to cancel or reschedule launches;
the cost of raw materials or supplied components critical for the manufacture and operation of our rockets and launch equipment;
the timing and cost of, and level of investment in, research and development relating to our technologies and our current or future facilities;
developments involving our competitors;
changes in governmental regulations or in the status of our regulatory approvals or applications;
future accounting pronouncements or changes in our accounting policies; and
general market conditions and other factors, including factors unrelated to our operating performance or the operating performance of our competitors.
The individual or cumulative effects of factors discussed above could result in large fluctuations and unpredictability in our quarterly and annual operating results. As a result, comparing our operating results on a period-to-period basis may not be meaningful.
This variability and unpredictability could also result in our failing to meet the expectations of industry or financial analysts or investors for any period. If our revenue or operating results fall below the expectations of analysts or investors or below any guidance we may provide, or if the guidance we provide is below the expectations of analysts or investors, the price of our common stock could decline substantially. Such a stock price decline could occur even when we have met any previously publicly stated guidance we may provide.
We may become involved in litigation that may materially adversely affect us.
From time to time, we may become involved in various legal proceedings relating to matters incidental to the ordinary course of our business, supplier, customer, or relationships with third-parties, including intellectual property, commercial, product liability,
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employment, class action, whistleblower and other litigation and claims, and governmental and other regulatory investigations and proceedings. Such matters can be time-consuming, divert management’s attention and resources from the operation of our business, and cause us to incur significant expenses or liability or require us to change our business practices. Because of the potential risks, expenses and uncertainties of litigation, we may, from time to time, settle disputes, even where we believe that we have meritorious claims or defenses. Because litigation is inherently unpredictable, we cannot assure you that the results of any of these actions will not have a material adverse effect on our business.
We have been focused on developing launch capabilities and services since 2017. This limited operating history makes it difficult to evaluate Astra’s future prospects and the risks and challenges it may encounter.
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 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 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.
We are subject to environmental regulation and may incur substantial costs or have operational disruptions.
We are subject to federal, state, local, and foreign laws, regulations and ordinances relating to the protection of the environment, including those relating to emissions to the air, discharges to surface and subsurface waters, safe drinking water, greenhouse gases and the management of hazardous substances, oils and waste materials. Federal, state and local laws and regulations relating to the protection of the environment may require a current or previous owner or operator of real estate to investigate and remediate hazardous or toxic substances or petroleum product releases at or from the property which could result in operational disruptions. Under federal law, generators of waste materials, and current and former owners or operators of facilities, can be subject to liability for investigation and remediation costs at locations that have been identified as requiring response actions. Compliance with environmental laws and regulations can require significant expenditures. In addition, we could incur costs or have operational disruptions to comply with such current or future laws and regulations, the violation of which could lead to substantial fines, penalties and operational costs.
We may have to pay governmental entities or third parties for property damage and for investigation and remediation costs that they incurred in connection with any contamination at our current and former properties without regard to whether we knew of or caused the presence of the contaminants. We may also have to suspend operations until we have remediated and the investigation is closed. Liability under these laws may be strict, joint and several, meaning that we could be liable for the costs of cleaning up environmental contamination regardless of fault or the amount of waste directly attributable to us. Even if more than one person may have been responsible for the contamination, each person covered by these environmental laws may be held responsible for all of the clean-up costs incurred. Environmental liabilities could arise and have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and performance. We do not believe, however, that pending environmental regulatory developments in this area will have a material effect on our capital expenditures or otherwise materially adversely affect its operations, operating costs, or competitive position.
The COVID-19 pandemic has and could continue to negatively affect various aspects of our business, make it more difficult for us to meet our obligations to our customers, and result in reduced demand for our products and services, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, or cash flows.
In December 2019, a novel strain of coronavirus was reported to have surfaced in Wuhan, China, and it has since spread throughout other parts of the world, including the United States. Any outbreak of contagious diseases or other adverse public health developments could have a material adverse effect on our business operations. These impacts to our operations have included, and could again in the future include, disruptions or restrictions on the ability of our employees’ and customers’ to travel or our ability to pursue collaborations and other business transactions, travel to customers and/or conduct live demonstrations of our products, oversee the activities of our third-party manufacturers and suppliers. We may also be impacted by the temporary closure of the facilities of suppliers, manufacturers or customers.
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In an effort to halt the outbreak of COVID-19, a number of countries, including the United States, have placed significant restrictions on travel and many businesses have announced extended closures. These travel restrictions and business closures have and may in the future adversely impact our operations locally and worldwide, including our ability to manufacture, market, sell, or distribute our products. Such restrictions and closure have caused or may cause temporary closures of the facilities of our suppliers, manufacturers or customers. A disruption in the operations of our employees, suppliers, customers, manufacturers or access to customers would likely impact our sales and operating results. We are continuing to monitor and assess the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on our commercial operations; however, we cannot at this time accurately predict what effects these conditions will ultimately have on our operations due to uncertainties relating to the ultimate geographic spread of the virus, the severity of the disease, the duration of the outbreak and speed of vaccinations, and the length of the travel restrictions and business closures imposed by the governments of impacted countries. In addition, a significant outbreak of contagious diseases in the human population could result in a widespread health crisis that could adversely affect the economies and financial markets of many countries, resulting in an economic downturn that could affect demand for our products and likely impact our operating results.
Changes in tax laws or regulations may increase tax uncertainty and adversely affect results of our operations and our effective tax rate.
We will be subject to taxes in the United States and certain foreign jurisdictions. Due to economic and political conditions, tax rates in various jurisdictions, including the United States, may be subject to change. Our future effective tax rates could be affected by changes in the mix of earnings in countries with differing statutory tax rates, changes in the valuation of deferred tax assets and liabilities and changes in tax laws or their interpretation. In addition, we may be subject to income tax audits by various tax jurisdictions. Although we believe our income tax liabilities are reasonably estimated and accounted for in accordance with applicable laws and principles, an adverse resolution by one or more taxing authorities could have a material impact on the results of our operations. Further, we may be unable to utilize our net operating losses in the event a change in control is determined to have occurred.
The dual class structure of our common stock has the effect of concentrating voting power with our Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder, which limits an investor’s ability to influence the outcome of important transactions, including a change in control.
Shares of our Class B common stock have 10 votes per share, while shares of our Class A common stock have one vote per share. The Astra Founders hold all of the issued and outstanding shares of our Class B common stock. Accordingly, the Astra Founders hold approximately seventy-five percent (75%) of the voting power of our capital stock on a fully-diluted basis and are able to control matters submitted to our stockholders for approval, including the election of directors, amendments of our organizational documents and any merger, consolidation, sale of all or substantially all of our assets or other major corporate transactions. Mr. Kemp and Dr. London may have interests that differ from yours and may vote in a way with which you disagree and which may be adverse to your interests. This concentrated control may have the effect of delaying, preventing or deterring a change in control of the Company, could deprive our stockholders of an opportunity to receive a premium for their capital stock as part of a sale of the Company, and might ultimately affect the market price of shares of our Class A common stock. For information about our dual class structure, see the section titled “Description of Securities.”
We cannot predict the impact our dual class structure may have on the stock price of our Class A common stock.
We cannot predict whether our dual class structure will result in a lower or more volatile market price of our Class A common stock or in adverse publicity or other adverse consequences. For example, certain index providers have announced restrictions on including companies with multiple-class share structures in certain of their indexes. Under these policies, our dual class capital structure would make us ineligible for inclusion in certain indices, and as a result, mutual funds, exchange-traded funds and other investment vehicles that attempt to passively track those indices will not be investing in our stock. It is unclear what effect, if any, these policies will have on the valuations of publicly traded companies excluded from such indices, but it is possible that they may depress valuations, as compared to similar companies that are included. As a result, the market price of shares of our Class A common stock could be adversely affected.
Delaware law and provisions in our certificate of incorporation and bylaws could make a takeover proposal more difficult.
Our organizational documents are governed by Delaware law. Certain provisions of Delaware law and of our certificate of incorporation and bylaws could discourage, delay, defer or prevent a merger, tender offer, proxy contest or other change of control transaction that a stockholder might consider in its best interest, including those attempts that might result in a premium over the market price for the shares of Class A common stock held by our stockholders. These provisions provide for, among other things:
the ability of our board of directors to issue one or more series of preferred stock;
stockholder action by written consent only until the first time when the Astra Founders cease to beneficially own a majority of the voting power of our capital stock;
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certain limitations on convening special stockholder meetings;
advance notice for nominations of directors by stockholders and for stockholders to include matters to be considered at our annual meetings;
amendment of certain provisions of the organizational documents only by the affirmative vote of (i) a majority of the voting power of our capital stock so long as the Astra Founders beneficially own shares representing a majority of the voting power of our capital stock and (ii) at least two-thirds of the voting power of the capital stock from and after the time that the Astra Founders cease to beneficially own shares representing a majority of the voting power of our voting stock; and
a dual-class common stock structure with 10 votes per share of our Class B common stock, the result of which is that the Astra Founders have the ability to control the outcome of matters requiring stockholder approval, even though the Astra Founders own less than a majority of the outstanding shares of our capital stock.
These anti-takeover provisions as well as certain provisions of Delaware law could make it more difficult for a third party to acquire the Company, even if the third party’s offer may be considered beneficial by many of our stockholders. As a result, our stockholders may be limited in their ability to obtain a premium for their shares. If prospective takeovers are not consummated for any reason, we may experience negative reactions from the financial markets, including negative impacts on the price of our common stock. These provisions could also discourage proxy contests and make it more difficult for our stockholders to elect directors of their choosing and to cause the Company to take other corporate actions that our stockholders desire. See “Description of Securities.”
Certain of our warrants are accounted for as liabilities and the changes in value of such warrants could have a material effect on our financial results.
On April 12, 2021, the Acting Director of the Division of Corporation Finance and Acting Chief Accountant of the SEC together issued a statement regarding the accounting and reporting considerations for warrants issued by special purpose acquisition companies entitled “Staff Statement on Accounting and Reporting Considerations for Warrants Issued by Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (“SPACs”)” (the “SEC Statement”). Specifically, the SEC Statement focused on certain settlement terms and provisions related to certain tender offers following a business combination, which terms are similar to those contained in the warrant agreement governing our Public Warrants and Private Placement Warrants. We evaluated the accounting treatment of our 9,999,976 Public Warrants and 5,333,333 Private Placement Warrants, and determined to classify such warrants as derivative liabilities measured at fair value, with changes in fair value for each period reported in earnings. Due to the recurring fair value measurement, we expect that we will recognize non-cash gains or losses on our Public Warrants and Private Placement Warrants each reporting period and that the amount of such gains or losses could be material.
The Company’s accounting treatment of the 9,999,976 Public Warrants and 5,333,33 Private Placement Warrants is based on its current interpretation of the SEC Statement and other guidance and may change in light of any further interpretive guidance, as may be applicable.
A failure of our information technology systems, physical or electronic security protections, or an interruption in their operation due to internal or external factors including cyber-attacks or insider threats, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.
Our operations are dependent on our ability to protect our employees, business systems, manufacturing capabilities, information systems, computer equipment and information databases from systems failures or malicious acts. We rely on both internal information technology systems, physical controls and policies, and certain external services and service providers to manage the day-to-day operation of our business, operate elements of our manufacturing facilities, manage relationships with our employees, customers and suppliers, fulfill customer orders and maintain our financial and accounting records. Failure of any one or more than one of our systems could be caused by internal or external events, such as incursions by intruders or hackers, physical intrusion or act, insider threats, computer viruses, cyber-attacks, failures in hardware or software, or power or telecommunication fluctuations or failures. The failure of our information technology systems to perform as anticipated for any reason or any significant breach of security could disrupt our business and result in numerous adverse consequences, including reduced effectiveness and efficiency of operations, increased costs or loss of important information or capabilities, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations. We have technology and information security processes, security and threat assessment plans and safeguards and periodic external service and service provider reviews in place to mitigate our risk to these vulnerabilities. However, these measures may not be adequate to ensure that our operations will not be disrupted or our financial impact minimalized, should such an event occur.
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Astra needs to meet multiple security requirements in order to meet ongoing requirements for participation in government contracts. The inability to meet regulatory requirements or security standards may mean a failure to win contracts, receive security clearance certifications, and loss of current and future business.
U.S. government contracts generally are subject to FAR, agency-specific regulations that supplement FAR, such as the DoD’s Defense Federal Acquisition Regulations, and other applicable laws, security requirements, and regulations. These regulations impose a broad range of requirements, many of which are unique to U.S. government contracting, including various procurement, import and export, security, contract pricing and cost, contract termination and adjustments, mandatory disclosure, and audit requirements. Our failure to comply with these regulations, agency or government entity processes or opinions, and requirements could result in an inability to acquire government contracts, reductions of the value of contracts, contract modifications or termination, inability to bill and collect receivables from customers, and the assessment of penalties and fines that could lead to suspension or debarment from U.S. government contracting or subcontracting.
The increase in non-US sales could lead to incidents in violation of US and international anti-corruption laws.
Our non-U.S. sales are subject to both U.S. and non-U.S. governmental regulations and procurement policies and practices, including regulations relating to import-export control, tariffs, investment, exchange controls, anti-corruption laws, and repatriation of earnings. Non-U.S. sales are also subject to varying currency, political and economic risks. The violation of any regulation could adversely affect our plans for international expansion.