0191 -9067/82/040353-01 $03.00/0 Copyright ® 1983 SUNSAT Energy Council NEWS ITEM THE LAUNCH OF CONESTOGA I DAVID HANNAH, JR. On September 9, at 10:15 a.m., Space Vector and Space Services, Inc. of America were successful in launching a 37 ft high launch vehicle called the Conestoga I, under the direction of Donald K. (Deke) Slayton. The vehicle went to a height of 195 miles and 321 miles down range. It weighed 13,592 pounds on takeoff. There were 31 technicians involved in the launch which took place on Matagorda Island. The land is owned by the Starbrand Cattle Company, a subsidiary of American Liberty Oil Company. There was a note of sadness in connection with the launch because of a death of one of the principal and first investors, Mr. Toddie Lee Wynne. Mr. Wynne died early in the morning before the launch. Because of a successful suborbital test, Space Services, Inc. is now in a position to go forward with the orbital vehicle which we hope to have in place and ready to launch by September of 1984. This vehicle will have a payload capable of receiving data from remote areas. It will be designed to take advantage of the state of the art presently existing, with emphasis on the new family of miniature computer chips. Design will be as simple and as foolproof as we can make it to give us every assurance of success in this next venture. SSI is now negotiating for a launch site on the big island of Hawaii with alternate backups on other islands in the South Pacific. Subsequent vehicles will use solid fuel and will be in the range providing two to three hundred pounds to 100 to 200 mile orbits. Space Services will continue to work on payloads designed around Earth-sensing and positioning satellites. Our launch service will also be available for other payloads, either government or privately sponsored. The estimated cost of such launches is approximately five (5) million dollars. It is our present plan to be fully operational by the end of 1985, with a target of one launch every thirty (30) days in subsequent years.
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