NMT Students Launch Highly Innovative Rocket at Spaceport America

Category: Non-Local News Releases Non-Local News Releases
Published: 10 November 2017 10 November 2017

Mustang 6A Rocket Launch, November 4, 2017, Spaceport America
(Photo: J. Perry, Launch Crew, White Sands Research and Developers, LLC)

Spaceport America announced the launch today of the first Mustang 6A rocket which was built by The New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology (NMT) Rocket Team in collaboration with White Sands Research and Developers, LLC (WSRDs).

The launch of the Mustang 6A, designed to reach an apogee of 24,000 feet, took place Saturday morning from Spaceport America's north Lunar Launch Pad. The mission was an operational success and accomplished most of the mission objectives, which involved testing of several newly designed and innovative subsystems. These custom-designed subsystems performed according to design and the payload section was recovered fully intact. The rocket, however, did not attain its intended apogee.

Dan Hicks, CEO of Spaceport America, summed it up, "We are proud of the New Mexico Tech team and its student members for their recent launch effort on November 4th at Spaceport America. We are pleased to work with these fine examples of the next generation of space industry engineers and scientists."

The launch took place at 07:35 AM (MDT), only 4 minutes after the planned launch time of 7:31AM MDT (sunrise). The mission window actually would have allowed launch until nearly 11:00 AM MDT. Dr. Christina Lohn, WSRDs' CEO remarked, "This mission took enormous preparation by WSRDs' launch crew and the NMT rocket team, but it really paid off with a smooth operation under changing weather conditions."

(Photo by Dr. C. Lohn, WSRDs' President and Launch Crew Member)
The mission patch was designed by Chip Wyly and Lenora Jaramillo-Wyly. It utilizes symbols from the logos of WSRDs (Zia-enclosed Mach cone) and NMT (M-Mountain), and depicts the Mustang rocket heading towards Polaris, the North Star, which is used to verify alignment of the launch rail and meteorological equipment.

The current mission was the third NMT rocket launch hosted at Spaceport America, and each group of students has been welcomed and supported by the spaceport crew. This team reached the highest operational level yet in terms of safety, proficiency, adherence to schedule, and professionalism. Dr. Lohn, added, "We want to thank the Spaceport America staff and its Protective Services contractor, who were very helpful throughout the preparations, up to and including active participation in our Mission Readiness Review and Mission Dress Rehearsal."

We thank you for your continued support of Spaceport America. For more information, please contact Spaceport America at +1 (575) 267-8500 or info@spaceportamerica.com

Sincerely,

Daniel Hicks

CEO, Spaceport America 

@Spaceport_NM is #NewMexicoTrue

Content on the Beat

WARNING: All articles and photos with a byline or photo credit are copyrighted to the author or photographer. You may not use any information found within the articles without asking permission AND giving attribution to the source. Photos can be requested and may incur a nominal fee for use personally or commercially.

Disclaimer: If you find errors in articles not written by the Beat team but sent to us from other content providers, please contact the writer, not the Beat. For example, obituaries are always provided by the funeral home or a family member. We can fix errors, but please give details on where the error is so we can find it. News releases from government and non-profit entities are posted generally without change, except for legal notices, which incur a small charge.

NOTE: If an article does not have a byline, it was written by someone not affiliated with the Beat and then sent to the Beat for posting.

Images: We have received complaints about large images blocking parts of other articles. If you encounter this problem, click on the title of the article you want to read and it will take you to that article's page, which shows only that article without any intruders. 

New Columnists: The Beat continues to bring you new columnists. And check out the old faithfuls who continue to provide content.

Newsletter: If you opt in to the Join GCB Three Times Weekly Updates option above this to the right, you will be subscribed to email notifications with links to recently posted articles.

Submitting to the Beat

Those new to providing news releases to the Beat are asked to please check out submission guidelines at https://www.grantcountybeat.com/about/submissions. They are for your information to make life easier on the readers, as well as for the editor.

Advertising: Don't forget to tell advertisers that you saw their ads on the Beat.

Classifieds: We have changed Classifieds to a simpler option. Check periodically to see if any new ones have popped up. Send your information to editor@grantcountybeat.com and we will post it as soon as we can. Instructions and prices are on the page.

Editor's Notes

It has come to this editor's attention that people are sending information to the Grant County Beat Facebook page. Please be aware that the editor does not regularly monitor the page. If you have items you want to send to the editor, please send them to editor@grantcountybeat.com. Thanks!

Here for YOU: Consider the Beat your DAILY newspaper for up-to-date information about Grant County. It's at your fingertips! One Click to Local News. Thanks for your support for and your readership of Grant County's online news source—www.grantcountybeat.com

Feel free to notify editor@grantcountybeat.com if you notice any technical problems on the site. Your convenience is my desire for the Beat.  The Beat totally appreciates its readers and subscribers!  

Compliance: Because you are an esteemed member of The Grant County Beat readership, be assured that we at the Beat continue to do everything we can to be in full compliance with GDPR and pertinent US law, so that the information you have chosen to give to us cannot be compromised.