|
Dream takes flight from spaceport sight
Published May 4, 2003
It was just a first step, but for the 500 people gathered to watch the first rocket launch at the proposed Brazoria County spaceport site Saturday. That first step was a doozy.
The Amateur Spaceflight Association, a nonprofit group working to promote space research, launched two rockets from a field off FM 523, just north of Oyster Creek. Even though neither of the rockets flew as high as a commercial jet, the launch sent hopes for a spaceport soaring past the moon.
The first rocket was a test to make sure everything was working for the main event, a 12-foot tall rocket expected to reach at least 10,000 feet and break the sound barrier.
At 3:22 p.m., the bigger rocket took off, zipping into the clouds and beyond in a matter of seconds as spectators cheered like it was the Super Bowl. Four minutes later, the rocket wafted back to earth, landing softly to another round of applause as the vehicle landed like a spear in the salt grass and gumbo of the field.
Rob Morehead, one of the founders of ASA, said the only problem was a parachute that failed to open when the little rocket descended. The second launch, though delayed more than three hours, went off without a hitch.
“The rocket did what it’s supposed to do,” Morehead said.
His colleague, Nic Radford, was more emotional.
“It’s gorgeous, it’s gorgeous,” Radford said as he watched a replay of the main rocket on the screen set up under a tent at the Brazoria County Modelers Association runway.
Fred Welch, chairman of the Gulf Coast Regional Spaceport Development Corp., the group in charge of bringing a spaceport to Brazoria County, said everything went perfectly.
Welch said Saturday’s launch went a long way toward showing Brazoria County was a legitimate spot for a launching pad for commercial rockets.
“We’ve shown that we’ve got a good location,” Welch said. “Now it’s up to us to develop the market.”
Welch said the county needed to attract companies that wanted to launch satellites, which will make the site financially viable.
Brazoria County is one of three locations working to develop commercial spaceports in Texas. Willacy County and Pecos County are the others. If the site works out as hoped, it could bring thousands of high-tech jobs to the county. Proponents say private ventures can launch satellites into space for a fraction of what it costs NASA.
The spectators were impressed.
Angleton High School senior Bo Carpenter, who wants to study aerospace engineering at Texas A&M, said the launch was exciting.
“It got up a lot faster than the ones you buy at Wal-Mart,” said Carpenter, who attended with his Boy Scout troop.
Shane Buckner, 10, of Friendswood came with his father, who once worked at NASA. Buckner, who wants to be an astronaut, said he’s always been interested in rockets and planes.
“I thought they were cool,” he said. “Now I think they’re really, really cool.”
Morehead said he hoped to continue to build rockets and launch them from the site. He said ASA wanted to work directly with college students to get them involved with space research. The group’s primary focus will be research, not exploration.
“We want to remove some of the mystique of space,” Morehead said.
ASA hopes to launch a 24-foot rocket 75 miles into space early next year. Morehead said there would be other launches to get ready for that one. Ultimately, ASA’s goal is to be the first amateur group to put a person in space.
For his part, Welch said spaceport supporters were traveling down a long road.
“We hope this is the first of many steps that will take place here over the coming months and years to bring a spaceport to Brazoria County,” he said.
Share |
Save |
Mail |
Print
|
|
|
 |
|
FREE BAY BOAT WITH WATERFRONT PURCHASE Get
...
Click for all
Top Ads listing
|
