This story was updated on Dec. 21.
UP Aerospace launched a rocket from New Mexico's Spaceport America on Dec. 19, conducting a brief test shot that was both
non-public and unannounced prior to the flight.
In a press statement, Jerry Larson, President of
UP Aerospace noted that the flight was carried out for an unspecified client
for research and development purposes. The rocket reached a planned altitude of
2,500 feet, he said.
The flight was announced by the New Mexico
Spaceport Authority, noting that it was the second successful launch this year
from the Spaceport
America site near Las Cruces, New Mexico.
In April, the Connecticut-based UP Aerospace
flew from Spaceport America its SpaceLoft XL rocket, flying an
array of payloads, including the cremated remains of more than 200 people
on a suborbital flight for the Houston, Texas-based Celestis, Inc.
UP Aerospace carried out the inaugural
mission from Spaceport America in September 2006, but the rocket failed to
reach its desired trajectory.
The New Mexico spaceport site is approximately
70 square kilometers of open, generally level range land north of Las Cruces and east of Truth or Consequences. This location was favored for its low
population density, uncongested airspace and high elevation.
Emerging
rocket technologies
A few extra
details on the test shot were provided to SPACE.com from Eric Knight,
co-founder of Up Aerospace, Inc.
“The
client was a large aerospace company, but due to confidentiality, we can’t
release the name, Knight explained. The low-altitude flight was designed solely
for research and development purposes, he said, meeting all its technical
objectives.
“It
was a successful test for our client,” Knight explained. “The
flight wasn't intended to be a space launch. It was specifically designed
to test new and emerging rocket technologies.”
“This
is an additional, exciting -- and rapidly growing -- business segment for our
company. It complements the commercial and educational space-launch payload
services we provide via our SpaceLoft XL suborbital rocket vehicle,”
Knight concluded.
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