From: utzoo!decvax!harpo!npoiv!alice!sjb Newsgroups: net.columbia Title: Conestoga I Launch Article-I.D.: alice.908 Posted: Thu Sep 9 15:38:26 1982 Received: Fri Sep 10 06:00:29 1982 Space Services, Inc., made their first successful launch today, as Conestoga I lifted off from Matagorda, Texas. It was the first time that a privately owned company has launch a rocket. The surplus Minuteman solid motor, bought from NASA for $356K, carried the rocket up to a suborbital flight where it released its payload, 400 pounds of water; both fell into the Gulf of Mexico later, just as planned.