Europe's Biggest Amateur Rocket Completes Test-Firing

Michael Eriksen writes "The Danish amateur rocket group Copenhagen Suborbitals has successfully test fired their rocket (article in Danish). It is a 90,000 kW monster delivering a total of 140,000 N. According to the group, this is by far the biggest amateur rocket ever fired in Europe. The final goal is a manned (!) low-orbital flight."

When I read the headline....

[cybvapor]

....I thought of Wile E. Coyote trying to catch the roadrunner. If my memory servers, it didn't work out too well for Wile E. Coyote.

Re:Rocket fuel for thought...

[PalmHair]

Well, the European amateurs have always been cute and interesting - I have 4 GB worth of them on my hard drive. I have never considered asian porn to be a global threat, I just not a fan.

Re:Ummm

[sfraggle]

...because the North Koreans are militaristic nut cases and the Danes are not?

How can you say that when Denmark exports millions of vehicles every year believed to be used in private armies around the globe? True, they're Lego armies, but that's besides the point.

Lets hope it doesn't go wrong (bad taste warning)

[Chrisq]

The final goal is a manned (!) low-orbital flight.

The result could be some crispy Danish bacon.

Re:And so what...

[jamesh]

Pfft, when was the last time America nuked a neighboring nation?

I just checked the archives for the last 50 years and there is not one occassion of the Americans nuking any opposing force. I could have looked back further but I expect you'd find exactly the same thing.

Re:And so what...

[BradHAWK]

Bush was a balanced leader. Except on bicycles. And on Segways. And mentally.

As I have a Danish surname and live in UK

[Kupfernigk]

I can assure you that the Danes do have a record of invading their Southern near neighbours, and I believe the governments of the time were pretty totalitarian. If the Danes had that rocket capability in the 10th century AD, nobody would have heard of King Alfred. And we'd be making the Lego for them.

Re:As I have a Danish surname and live in UK

[smallfries]

So we'd have lost out on some burnt cakes, but gained some good bacon, and a huge improvement in centuries of beer tradition... count me in. Let me be the first to welcome our parallel reality Danish overlords...

Re:Rocket fuel for thought...

[John Hasler]

The warhead is being developed by a different, somewhat more secretive group of amateurs.

Re:And so what...

[slackbheep]

2009 - 50 = 1959. See what he did there? ^__________^

Obligatory daily show link

[hey!]

What's the Matter with Denmark? [thedailyshow.com]

and

Denmark's Military Arrogance. [thedailyshow.com]

Apparently we can add legalized pot to the catalog of horrors you mention.

10th Century Danish Rockets

[camperdave]

I can assure you that the Danes do have a record of invading their Southern near neighbours, and I believe the governments of the time were pretty totalitarian. If the Danes had that rocket capability in the 10th century AD, nobody would have heard of King Alfred. And we'd be making the Lego for them.

Who's King Alfred?

Re:10th Century Danish Rockets

[Anonymous Coward]

"Who's King Alfred?"

He invented Lego in the 10th century as a means to prototyping rocket engines.

Hazard a guess.