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Saturday, August 25, 2007

Enthusiasts have delayed the launch of what was claimed to be the biggest rocket fired by amateurs in Britain.  

ImageImageLARGS, Scotland UK — The craft, named the Corpulent Stump, was to take off from a site near Largs in Ayrshire on Saturday as part of International Rocket Week.

Poor weather and low cloud meant that the launch would be delayed until Sunday, organisers said.

The rocket, built by Richard Brown and his team, weighs 50kg (110lb) and is set to reach 1,829 metres (6,000ft).

It is designed to travel at about 500 mph and accelerate from zero to 100mph in just over a second.

"It's a huge bright red reinforced cardboard tube, but loaded with an engine and fuel, and around £1,000 worth of electronics which will sense its height, control the deployment of a parachute, and send live information back to the ground about its flight," the BBC's Huw Williams said.

The enthusiasts taking part in the International Rocket Week event say amateur rocketeers have a long record of developing new technologies and techniques which have shaped space exploration from its beginnings.

Copyright © 2007, BBC News.

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