Unmanned Amateur Rocket Reaches Space

A team of amateur rocket builders accomplished a major feat this week; the first privately built rocket to reach the edge of space. The 6.5-metre (21 foot) unmanned rocket blasted off from its Nevada launch pad, and reached a speed of 6500 km/h (4000 m/h) in only 9 seconds. Based on this velocity, the Civilian Space Exploration Team (CSXT) calculated that it would have reached the official edge of space at 100 km (62.5 m). The CSXT team has detected the rocket’s landing telemetry information, but hasn’t been able to locate it on the ground yet.