US rocket launches in new commercial venture

TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES, N.M., Sep 25 (Reuters) A commercial rocket packed with cargo blasted off from a desert launch range in New Mexico today, ushering in what the organisers hope will be a new era of cheap public access to space.

UP Aerospace launched the SpaceLoft XL rocket from Spaceport America, a remote desert launch site near the town of Truth or Consequences, New Mexico.

The Connecticut-based company aims to be the first offering cheap public access to space, with payloads priced from a few hundred dollars for small items weighing a few grams (ounces).

Reuters SRS VP0215