Low cost US rocket fails to reach space

TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES, New Mexico - A commercial rocket lasted off from a site in New Mexico today, but malfunctioned before it reached space, organisers said.

The UP Aerospace SpaceLoft XL rocket, which organisers had hoped would usher in a new era of cheap public access to space, blasted off from Spaceport America, a remote desert launch site near the town of Truth or Consequences, New Mexico.

It slewed off course 12,190m above ground due to a malfunction.

"Because of an unexpected aerodynamic effect, the vehicle was short of its effected range, it went to an altitude of 40,000 feet," a mission director said over a public address system said.

The Connecticut-based company aims to become the first offering public access to space at accessible prices, with payloads priced from a few hundred dollars for small items weighing a few grams.

The telephone pole-sized rocket hurtled into clear skies with 50 items of payload - including a Ziploc bag of Cheerios, some cremated remains and several high school science projects - on a brief sub-orbital flight 110km above Earth at 2.14pm Central Time.

It cleared the launch site and roared upward, but then appeared to spiral, leaving a corkscrew trail of smoke in the blue sky a few seconds after lift off.

Mission directors said the rocket appeared to have come back to Earth in the valley, and they hoped to salvage the payload.

"We believe that the vehicle is safely on the ground," they said.

The rocket is not the first privately funded bid to reach for the stars.

Two years ago, SpaceShipOne brushed the edge of space with a man on board, scooping up a $10 million ($15.33 million) prize for its backers.

UP Aerospace has nine flights booked over the next 12 months, hurtling payloads of up to 50kg up to the edge of space on a solid-fuel rocket that reaches speeds of 5,630kph - five times the speed of sound.

- REUTERS