Low-altitude rocket launched at new spaceport

A Florida avionics company successfully fired a low-altitude rocket at a new spaceport in New Mexico where the state hopes to launch commercial space tourism flights within two years.

Officials at the New Mexico Spaceport said such tests were important steps, not only towards viable space travel, but also to demonstrate the site’s uses for other commercial space development.

“This is the precursor to huge things, multibillion-dollar projects,” spaceport director Steve Landeene said. “You’ve got to prove it’s viable.”

Orlando-based Moog Industries fired the rocket after a 90-minute delay brought on by a glitch in a global positioning system antenna that had to be replaced.

The problem led to postponement of a planned second launch that would have represented the first time a private company completed two lift-offs from the same site in one day.

New Mexico Spaceport said the research and development test was important because it demonstrated commercial applications beyond €138,000 space flights for tourists that Virgin Galactic plans to operate within two years.

Recovery teams were sent out to retrieve the used rocket for evaluation and the window to launch expired as officials examined it.

Ray Nielsen, chief engineer for Moog Industries, said the initial flight of the 8ft long prototype vehicle he termed a rocket glider accomplished “100% of its objectives”.

He said, however, the black rocket missed a planned runway landing by several hundred feet. Had it returned to the desired location, Mr Nielsen said the second flight probably would have been possible.

The company is planning to retest the vehicle by the end of the week.

Jerry Larson of Up Aerospace, which launched the rocket for Moog, said there were five more launch windows in the coming days.

Mr Nielsen said the rocket had military applications for surveillance and would allow someone in a forward operating post to “get up in a hurry, go over a hill and take a look around”.

He praised the New Mexico site, saying the company saved 18 months of work obtaining flight permits and meeting other requirements it would have faced on a military test range.

“This vehicle came off the drawing board 30 days ago,” he said. “To simply go out, put a design on paper and then build it, this site probably saved us a year and a half.”

Although Moog officials would not disclose the cost of the flights, Mr Landeene said the spaceport could offer better and faster access at a lower cost compared to military ranges.

The rocket rose 2,200 feet above the desert, arced against the morning sunshine, cut power and glided in for a belly landing. It bounced on the earth, scattering some debris, but all the pieces were easily recovered.

Mr Nielsen said engineers testing the vehicle’s guidance system were thrilled by the rocket’s performance. Moog also does work involving weapons systems and cruise missiles.

Mr Larson said Moog representatives were “jumping up and down in the launch control centre”. He said the test demonstrated an important commercial application because his three-person crew took the assignment only a few weeks ago.