Launch Fails
The UP Aerospace SpaceLoft XL rocket launched today in New Mexico failed to attain altitude, spiraling out of control at about 40,000 feet. The company hopes to salvage the payload since the failed rocket landed within the same valley the launch facility is in.
The UP Aerospace SpaceLoft XL rocket, which organizers had hoped would usher in a new era of cheap public access to space, blasted off from Spaceport America, a remote desert launch site near the town of Truth or Consequences, New Mexico.
It slewed off course 40,000 feet above ground due to a malfunction.
"Because of an unexpected aerodynamic effect, the vehicle was short of its effected range, it went to an altitude of 40,000 feet," a mission director said over a public address system said.
The Connecticut-based company aims to become the first offering public access to space at accessible prices, with payloads priced from a few hundred dollars for small items weighing a few grams (ounces).
Pity. Better luck next time.
By BubbaB, Thursday, 28 September , 2006 @ 4:20 pm
I was wondering what that booming sound was…
—BubbaB, in Albuquerque (got lost on my way to Pismo Beach)