Spaceport launch lifts student projects

UPHAM, N.M. (KRQE) - The flight was delayed about 45 minutes, but the launch of rocket into sub-orbital space from Spaceport America near Truth or Consequences, New Mexico was successful.

According to the Spaceport America website, a live webcast and chat said that the delay was caused by a concern regarding one of the canisters on board the rocket.

UP Aerospace , the company responsible for the launch, will send the ashes of about 30 people in the rocket.

Also along for the ride are some experiments from the Air Force, as well as multi-sensor electronic projects from New Mexico State University and high school students in T or C.

KRQE pilot reporter Bob Martin confirmed that the launch was delayed due to a double check of the payload aboard the rocket.

This is the second time for this type of experiment.  A similar education launch at the Spaceport last year ended with a crash due to a computer error, but scientists say the problem has been fixed.

After the brief technical delay the flight itself was perfect in every way, according to UP Aerospace.

The rocket roared 70 miles above the earth and spent about four minutes in space before re-entering the atmosphere.

"It's good to have a good successful flight," Jerry Larson of UP Aerospace said. "We had a lot of people working on this. We had Lockheed Martin and the Air Force and Schafer Corporation, all working to make sure this was successful."

The payload landed under its red parachute tested here earlier on a simulated payload.

Recovery was at the Army's White Sands Missile Range, which also provided a helicopter crew for pickup.

The payload, charred from its hypervelocity dash through the atmosphere, was quickly disassembled.

Experiments for New Mexico high school and college students were accompanied by the ashes of 30 people whose loved ones wanted them to go to space, at least for a little while...

"It's a very compelling mission for someone that's always been interested in space," said Charles Chafer, chief executive of Celestis Inc. , the company offering the flights.

UP Aerospace, the company that organized the flight, is already making plans to launch bigger rockets here.

That will lift even more weight and future vehicles that'll lift small payloads into orbit.

Nearby the giant spaceport terminal complex is rising out of the desert.

That's where space tourists are supposed to lift off from here in a couple of years.