A Dover woman's dying wish that her ashes should be sent into space has been carried out in New Mexico. Audrey Bates, who died in March 2009, aged 75, was fascinated with the US moon landings of the 1960s. Her remains were launched from Spaceport America, near Las Cruces in the US, on Tuesday. Read more
As the 20-foot, 1,100-pound rocket fired gracefully skyward against the backdrop of a New Mexico sunrise Tuesday, something struck a chord in the heart of 19-year-old Quang Tran. A Vietnam native who's studying computer science at New Mexico Highlands University, Tran and his classmates were among the roughly 100 college and high school students from around the state who had science projects aboard the rocket. Going into the launch, Tran said, he was excited but didn't realize how much the event would affect him. Read more
The flight was delayed about 45 minutes, but the launch of rocket into sub-orbital space from Spaceport America near Truth or Consequences, New Mexico was successful. According to the Spaceport America website, a live webcast and chat said that the delay was caused by a concern regarding one of the canisters on board the rocket. Read more
Aerospace officials said they successfully launched a rocket Tuesday carrying experiments by New Mexico students to an altitude of 70 miles. UP Aerospace president Jerry Larson said the rocket reached speeds five-and-a-half times the speed of sound before landing at southern New Mexico's White Sands Missile Range. Read more