It looks like the folks over at Lockheed Martin Space Systems near Denver, Colorado are pushing the launch button on a new type of automated and reusable spaceship design - one able to transport payloads into space in future years.

Way back in December of last year, a hush-hush test flight of a small, unmanned aerial vehicle took place from the site of New Mexico’s Spaceport America.

Linking up with the expertise and launch site hardware available from UP Aerospace of Highlands Ranch, Colorado, a Lockheed Martin research vehicle flew under its own power. Soaring just a few thousand feet into the air, the small winged craft was recovered a few hours after liftoff.

Thanks to the investigative spunk of Bob Martin at KRQE-TV in Albuquerque, he has helped pull back the curtain on what was flown - a small scale prototype of a space launch system.

Take a look at his spotlight story at:

http://www.krqe.com/global/story.asp?s=8173339

All the more reason that Lockheed Martin recently inked a Memorandum of Understanding with the New Mexico Spaceport Authority to carry out future testing at the spaceport.

“We completed the December 19, 2007 launch for Lockheed Martin in record time,” said Jerry Larson, President of UP Aerospace, Inc. “Contract signing to launch was only a few months,” he told me.

“We firmly believe that developing this lean launch operations capability is an essential element of the ultimate success of space commercialization,” Larson added.