UP ... and that's what UP Aerospace did, and twice in a week. They demonstrated their ability to fly two of their SpaceLoft sub-orbital launch vehicles in rapid succession all within five days of each other. UP Aerospace provides sub orbital flights to provide payloads a micro gravity environment for testing experiments in space.

NASA’s Flight Opportunities funds flight of space technology on UP Aerospace’s rocket poised to launch at Spaceport America in New Mexico.
Credits: NASA Photo / Lauren Hughes

Reports were released by UP Aerospace and NASA that described the following:

September 12, 2018 - UP Aerospace successfully launched their SpaceLoft 12 (SL-12) vehicle into space. The vehicle reached an altitude of 354,000 feet. This launch was flown for NASA's Flight Opportunities Program. The vehicle carried two experiments from NASA Ames Research Center, as well as one payload from NASA's Kennedy Space Center.

September 17, 2018 - UP Aerospace launched their second vehicle SpaceLoft 11 (SL-11) into space. The vehicle reached an altitude of 357,800 feet. This mission was also flown for NASA's Flight Opportunities Program. SpaceLoft 11 carried experiments from NASA Ames Research Center, NASA Armstrong Research Center, Barcelona Tech, Controlled Dynamics, Celestis, and the FAA.

UP Aerospace President Jerry Larson noted that UP Aerospace's ability to develop and successfully launch a rocket in such a short amount of time demonstrates the high level of skill, dedication, and professionalism of his team.

NASA's Flight Opportunities Campaign Manager, Paul De Leon shared that it was great to see UP Aerospace demonstrate the ability to perform back-to-back launches, by performing both of SL-11 and SL-12 missions in less than a week.

UP Aerospace President Jerry Larson stated that, with their in house state-of-the-art rocket motor development and manufacturing facility, they are able to provide a launch from conception to launch in about six months. The payloads are retrieved following the launch and most often returned to the payloaders within hours following the launch. Jerry also said that NASA's Flight Opportunities Program has been a great partner with UP Aerospace.