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UPDATED 9 P.M.: The New Mexico spaceport rocket that blasted off into suborbital space by UP Aerospace on Saturday, April 28th is now an on-going search story. Recovery operations to find the rocket’s payload of ashes and experiments continues into next week.
Word from Jerry Larson, President of the rocket group, is that recovery of the payload has been slowed by rough, dense terrain and windy conditions in the mountains 30 miles away from Spaceport America and within the White Sands Missile Range.
The SpaceLoft XL booster was successfully located earlier on the side of a mountain, but the helicopter crew could not find the rocket’s payload of gear, including the ashes of some 200 individuals, including “Scotty” of Star Trek fame, Mercury astronaut, Gordon Cooper, and ashes collected from the aftermath of the New York 9/11 terrorist attack.
Larson has advised me that analysis of White Sands Missile Range radar skin track data revealed both the payload and booster had reentered Earth’s atmosphere under drogue parachutes as planned. That same data further pinpointed where the payload is, he noted.
“We are now cleared to resume the search” early morning Friday, Larson said. However, after nearly six hours of scouting about, high winds chased the recovery team off the mountain.
“We did identify all four parachute transmitters today, which was a first,” Larson said. “But the steep canyons and mountain terrain reflects the radio frequency making directional finding almost impossible.” Still, the four transmitters speak volumes in the sense that the drogue and main parachute were deployed and are in the general area.
Late word Friday is that high winds are again forecast for Saturday and Sunday, Larson explained to me…so it’s back to next Monday before another attempt can be staged to find and retrieve the payload.
