Spaceport View

Spaceport View: A private reusable-rocket testbed flying from New Mexico's Spaceport America has produced a preview of coming attractions for space tourists and researchers using the same facility to embark on suborbital spaceflight.


Armadillo Aerospace

On. Jan. 28 Armadillo Aerospace's third STIG-A flight test vehicle flew to an altitude of about 50 miles above the spaceport, where Virgin Galactic will launch and recover its planned SpaceShipTwo human suborbital vehicles.



Armadillo Aerospace

An automatic camera on the rocket took photos of the view of the Rio Grande Valley. Passengers on SpaceShipTwo will see the same view as they rocket into space from the WhiteKnightTwo carrier aircraft that will take off from the spaceport's runway.



Armadillo Aerospace

"The vehicle was the same one that flew flew on Dec. 4, 2011 and successfully demonstrated the feasibility of a reusable rocket," stated Armadillo's Neil Milburn. "The altitude achieved in this second flight was approximately twice that of the earlier flight and again tested many of the core technologies needed for the proposed manned reusable suborbital vehicle."

Unfortunately, the ballute recovery system shown below did not deploy properly, and the test vehicle returned to Earth without using its GPS-guided steerable main parachute.



Armadillo Aerospace

Nonetheless, the nose cone and ballute were recovered intact within the spaceport boundaries, according to the New Mexico Spaceport Authority.

Armadillo plans to continue testing early in the spring with an upgraded STIG-B rocket designed to reach an altitude of 62 miles, which is considered where space begins.