Today In History:  09 September  [1982]   --  First private commercial rocket, makes suborbital flight

The Conestoga was a launch vehicle design funded by Space Services Inc. of America of Houston, Texas. Conestoga originally consisted of surplus LGM-30 Minuteman rocket stages with additional strap-on boosters, as required for larger payloads. It was the world's first privately funded commercial rocket, but was launched only three times (once as a modified design) between 1981 and 1995, before the program was shut down.

PHOTO: The Conestoga 1 prepared for launch from Matagorda Island.

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Photo Attribution:  CC BY-SA 3.0  via Wikimedia. Eric Grabow - Space Vector Corporation