A sounding rocket launched from Spaceport America in New Mexico on the morning of June 21. This rocket contained science experiments designed and built by students to the edge of space. The payload also included unique commercial materials as well as cremated human remains.
Launched at 8 a.m. local time (10 a.m.. EDT), the UP Aerospace SpaceLoft XL rocket reached an altitude of 73.9 miles before returning to Earth, aided by parachute. The launch, originally set for 7 a.m., was delayed an hour due to rain. The rocket and its attendant payloads successfully landed at the White Sands Missile Range, operated by the U.S. Army, less than 15 minutes later.
"It was a perfect flight. We hit a new altitude record, and it came back down right in the target area at White Sands Missile Range. We went straight to it in an Army helicopter, recovered the payloads and gave them back to the payload customers right there on the spot," Jerry Larson, UP Aerospace president and CEO, said.
Experiments from over 60 middle and high school students were sent aloft in two packages. Twenty-three Cobre High School students sent aloft a container to hold experiments conaining gels and liquids, which they hope will be developed by NASA. Six of those students attended the launch. Several other experiments dealt with the effects of spaceflight on algae and yeast.
Other experiments included testing of the ADS-B, a tracking device that will be required by 2020 of all aircraft operating in U.S. airspace. The Diapason instrument, which measured industrial pollution in zero gravity, was designed by DTM Technology of Italy. Another experiment measured and recorded acceleration and other parameters of flight.
Cremated remains of 36 people were also carried aboard the craft, sponsored by Celestis, a company in Houston. These included ashes of Maria Sabaliauskas, who was Miss Argentina in 1967, and the former mayor of Hatch. NM, Judd Nordyke.
"It was awesome seeing it go up and all the smoke with it. I'm glad I got a video of it. That was the best thing. I can't forget that now," Lisa Barrera, a 10-year-old student at Vista Middle School in Las Cruces, said.
Less-traditional items that made the trip to space include poker chips, sent there by a motorcycle store, and fabric to be manufactured into eight pairs of yoga pants.
Standing twenty feet tall and weighing 780 pounds, the rocket attained a top speed of five times the speed of sound.
The launch was made available from NASA through the agency's Flight Opportunities Program. Spaceport America was the first commercial center for launching rockets into space, although it is supported in part by funding from the state.
