Rocket man's dreams take off

The launch went perfectly

One of the UK's leading amateur rocketeers has successfully launched his latest craft. Steve Bennett watched his four-metre (14ft) Tempest climb high into the sky over Merseyside just after 10:15 GMT on Friday.

The 23-kg (50-lb) rocket took scorched into the sky over the River Mersey. The launch brought loud cheers from supporters and sponsors watching the blast-off on the Altcar Military Range near Hightown, north of Liverpool.

"It has done exactly what it was meant to do, so I am very, very happy," Mr Bennett said after the launch. "My space dream is no longer pie in the sky.

"I have dreamt about moments like this for all my life and this is what keeps me going through all the difficult times when I can't even get someone to give me a tin of paint to finish the rocket."

The launch was a test flight for a bigger rocket that will blast-off later in the year.

Future flights

It is just 12 months since Mr Bennett's £70,000 Starchaser 3 rocket crashed in flames on a Dartmoor military range.

Tempest cost a more modest £6,000. It was packed with Salford University physics students' experiments. They will provide the invaluable information on the materials, parachutes and computers that will eventually be used on the next Starchaser.

"It's a three-stage reusable rocket. It's got a large payload area so we'll be putting a lot of experiments on board.

"We are going to try out a variety of concepts for a satellite launch vehicle we are working on."

The Starchaser is likely to be launched in America - probably in the Black Rock desert.

Professional approach

The former sugar worker with Tate and Lyle has attempted to put his organisation on to a more professional footing by forming his 26-man team into a limited company.

There is a $10m (£6.25m) prize on offer from a foundation for the first non-governmental body to launch three people 100 km (60 miles) into space. The university lecturer believes he is now well on course to claim the prize.

"We are looking for cheap access to space - especially for the UK," he said.

"There is a lot of money to made in launching small satellites and, indeed, there are a lot of people wanting to take day trips into space. We're going to cash-in on that."

A delighted Mrs Bennett, who was at the Altcar range to see the successful launch of Tempest, said she was sure her husband would want to be the one on board the rocket which went for the ultimate prize.

"He's not the nutter people make him out to be," she said. "He would have to make sure it worked. We will have to see who goes up, but I suppose it is his ultimate dream."

It is difficult to gauge just how high Mr Bennett's rockets go. The UK Rocketry Association verifies and logs the altitude marks set by many of Britain's leading amateur rocketeers, but it has not done so with any of Mr Bennett's recent launches.