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Space

Rocket Guy Getting Closer - But No Firm Launch Date 201

Posted by timothy from the check-out-the-napkin-art dept.
BoomZilla writes "Brian Walker, the self styled "Rocket Guy" is making excellent progress with his one-man booster. Project R.U.S.H. plans to launch Brian in to orbit 'sometime later this year'. Brian's site (http://www.rocketguy.com/rocket.html) has many excellent pictures of the rocket and launch site (his backyard!) under construction. This is certainly the real (if somewhat dangerous) deal." (And Napkin Art? Look here.) Update: 05/29 04:08 GMT by T : Brian Walker dropped a note to point out that his plan is actually for a sub-orbital flight 35 miles up, not Earth orbit.
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Rocket Guy Getting Closer - But No Firm Launch Date More

Rocket Guy Getting Closer - But No Firm Launch Date

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  • haha (Score:2, Funny)

    by Graspee_Leemoor ( 302316 )
    Rocket jumping taken to extremes.

    graspee

    • I was worried about him last year, so I wrote... (Score:5, Interesting)

      by Syre ( 234917 ) on Tuesday May 28, 2002 @01:39AM (#3593697)
      Here's some correspondance I exchanged with the RocketGuy last year. I was a bit harsh with him, but I was really concerned that he'd show up in the Darwin Awards:

      To:
      Sent: Friday, October 12, 2001 1:57 AM
      Subject: WWW:Rocket Guy Site Feedback

      Message: Are you going to do an unmanned test flight (or several) before you launch yourself in this rocket?

      If not, I suggest you go to space.com and look at the videos under their "launches" section. You will see many rockets exploding and crashing.

      If you launch yourself without doing unmanned test flights, it must be concluded that you are either an idiot or suicidal.

      I hope that neither is the case and that you do the test flights and insure that you are not remembered as a fool.

      Best wishes.

      ========
      And his reply:
      ========
      From Brian Walker Fri Oct 12 08:10:26 2001
      From: "Brian Walker"
      Subject: Re: WWW:Rocket Guy Site Feedback
      Date: Fri, 12 Oct 2001 08:10:26 -0700

      Yes, I will be conducting unmanned launches. The first will be is a smaller rocket 12 foot high, 320 pounds fuel,gross weight about 4000 pounds). It will demonstarte the separating fins and air launch system.

      No, I am neither an idiot of suicidal.

      Thanks for the message and concern.

      • He has become a bit more risk averse with a good reason.

        Excerpt from his site:
        http://www.rocketguy.com/rocket/December_20 01_upda te.html

        And of course, there has been another major change in my life. During my trips to Russia (now numbering 4), I met a woman who is my soul-mate and the love of my life. We fell in love after we met. This occurred in April 2001, when I went to fly the MiG 25. previously, we had emailed each other almost every day for two months. When I met her face-to-face, that was all it took. Her little boy is a wonderful child, and I look forward to having him as my son. He has no active father in his life, and at 45 years of age, I have determined that being alone without a family sucks.

        I am hoping to have them here in late April or early May. I want to launch the test rocket first, and when they arrive, I plan on spending the Summer months taking them on trips around the US, and helping them adjust to a new culture and language. When the boy begins school in September, I will jump back into the rocket project.

        Prior to meeting her, I was prone to taking risks of a considerably higher nature. No test launches just get in and go. Now, I have decided that it would be wise to be more careful, and make sure that my design and concepts will work the way I want them, or more correctly, the way they need to.
      • He's not planning to do an unmanned test flight of his rocket... danger, danger!

        ----
        From:"Brian Walker"
        Re: WWW:Rocket Guy Site Feedback
        Date: Tue, 28 May 2002 17:36:27 -0700

        Dear Well-wisher,

        I appreciate your comments and concern for my safety. I have considered an unmanned launch, but am currently looking into having a 250 foot launch tower built (similar to the ones you see in amusement parks that blast people upwards). This would allow the rocket to be accelerated
        under a controlled situation where it would gain aerodynamic stability and enough momentum to carry it to a minimum altitude of almost 2000 feet, even if all the systems failed. This is more than adequate altitude for one of three abort modes.

        There is no doubt that this carries a certain amount of risk, and even if a did a full-on test launch, there is no guarantee that a second such launch would not develop a problem.

        Also, there is no guarantee that the rocket would survive the first launch with capabilities for second launch. I am self funding this project, and I am not that rich. I am counting on the data that has been generated over the past half century, along with the space suit and multiple escape/abort/survival options. But I don't have a death wish, so when it all comes down to it, if it appears to be too risky, I simply won't go.

        Best regards,

        Brian Walker

  • I hope he won't forget the security device against gas leaks: chewing gun...

  • Has "Slashdotted" made it to the dictionary yet?

  • The First in History.. (Score:5, Funny)

    by Quizme2000 ( 323961 ) on Monday May 27, 2002 @08:20PM (#3592880) Homepage Journal
    To be added to the Darwin Awards in Real-Time. Maybe we will get streaming video of it too?

  • Got to Have Faith (Score:2, Interesting)

    by Cpl Laque ( 512294 )
    This guy must be seriously confident about his abilities. Just one small error in his calculations and he is dead. I can't manually configure X without screwing it up.
    • Hell, even NASA makes mistakes--they mixed SI and English units on the Mars Pathfinder, and it didn't work.
      • That wasn't the Pathfinder, it was either the Global Surveyor or Climate Orbiter, I can't remember which.

        Pathfinder was the mission with the little robot that went aroudn taking pictures of everything.
    • Why is everybody who is doing this automatically labeled an idiot? Provided he takes proper precautions, is very careful, and has enough checking of his work, there is no reason it can't be as safe as the American or Russian space programs.....
      • Well, I haven't seen the site yet either, but let's not forget the kind of firepower you need just to get into suborbit. Escape velocity from Earth is 11,8 km/s and you need at least half that speed to get anywhere near space. Accelerating a guy to mach 6 is serious business, and it's not just the one person- you also need some sort of life support so he doesn't get grilled by friction, doesn't suffocat, doesn't die from decompression, and so on. This isn't exactly a project you can build in your back-yard...
        • Actually, to reach an elevation of 100km, you need a velocity of exactly 1.40 km/s, assuming gravity is 9.8 m/s^2. Much less than half of escape velocity.
        • Depends what sort of backyard you have. Provided you have the tools, the experience in using them, and the right knowledge(plus some unmanned test flights) you could do it successfully. Mind you it would take more than just one person, you'd need at least a team of 20 "amateur" engineers.
        • All he wants to do is get to 30km up.

          It all depends on his power to weight ratio.
          If it's only a little bit more than 1 ,he's in for a long trip, with lotsa fuel.

          Too much and he'll be in for one hell of a trip.

          If I remember my high school physics (correct me and mod me down please if this is wrong!)

          Eg.
          Mass of 1000kg of rocket + fuel = 1,000,000 grams.

          power to weight ratio of 1.1 =
          Net upwards force of 100kg = approx 1,000,000N thrust.

          From the basic equation,
          Force (newtons) = mass (grams) * acceleration (meters /second )
          this gives :
          Acceleration (meters /second) = force (newtons) / mass (grams)
          = 1,000,000 / 1,000,000
          Resulting in 1m/s upwards acceleration.

          not counting other effects , you can then find out the time to reach 30km :

          s = ut + 1/2 at^2 (u= initial speed, presumably zero)
          30,000 = 0 + 1/2 *1 * T^2
          T^2 = 30,000 / 0.5
          = 244 seconds.

          And what the hell , his velocity at this point is

          V = u + at
          = 0 + 1 m/ss *244 seconds
          = 244m/s
          = 878 km/h

          Then you get the dynamic effects such as friction from the air, which decreases with altitude, but increases with speed and the fact that his vehicle is getting lighter as he burns more fuel. Sure hope he's done his sums right.
          (and he double checks the parachutes)

  • Rocket Man... (Score:2, Funny)

    by GMontag ( 42283 )
    "Brian Walker, the self styled "Rocket Guy" is making excellent progress with his one-man booster.

    ... burning out his fuse out here alone...
  • Anyone have a mirror, Google cache doesn't like the Flash. This actually sounds interesting!

  • Damn (Score:2)

    by tulare ( 244053 )
    This guy makes the rest of us look sane by comparison. I've always wanted to go into space, but I'm not sure I'd try it in a BYO machine. Then again, if it does work, imagine what that will do for space travel. I'd predict that a lot of people will try, and a lot will die, but in the end, the big corps will figure out that if some yahoo in Bend can do it on a shoestring, they can do it too - for a profit!
    'Course, his site is /.ed already - in what must be record time.
    Moderators: I've got 50 points. Do your best :)

    • Re:Damn (Score:1, Troll)

      by interiot ( 50685 )
      I'd predict that a lot of people will try, and a lot will die

      Nah, the Republicans will stop us first. If they won't allow us the choice (remember that? Freedom of choice?) to not wear our seatbelts, they sure as hell won't let us blast ourselves into space even if we only pose a risk to ourselves. They'll drown ameteurs in a ton of forms and inspections, and ensure that only the big boys get to do it.

    • If this guy succeeds, it'll only be a matter of time before 'some' governments make it illegal to attempt any rocket jumping. With the billions of dollars of equipment flying overhead, I don't think they will allow anyone to get up there. And also, it's actually quite dangerous out there. The last thing we need is some wacko releasing a tube of bolts and BBs out there. Ever see what a small drop of antifreeze will do to a satellite while travelling at Mach 25. (Hint: Wireless service outage)

      • Re:Damn (Score:3, Interesting)

        by GigsVT ( 208848 )
        You overestimate the harm of a small amount of space junk. One of the things that is going for us is that there is a lot of space up there, and the space to junk ratio is very high. I seriously doubt that a small amount of shot, the couple kilogram that someone could manage to loft, would cause much damage, there are probably already thousands of kilograms of tiny space junk up there. Cumulative effects of thousands of small launches could be bad though.
        • He's not going that high. Yeah there's junk, but he's not going high enough. But then, I don't know the altitude all that crap resides. That, and NASA has NORAD to track that crap. Somehow, all I think his budget allows for is a forcast from The Weather Channel.
    • I'm impressed at this effort. I have to admire anyone who has a dream and just does it, danger be damned. But read this--I'm surprised nobody mentioned it yet:

      http://www.snopes2.com/spoons/noose/balloon.htm

      Granted, a weather-balloon-covered-lawnchair doesn't have the same geek appeal and doesn't require the same technical expertise and long hours of work as a rocket, but still--this guy had a dream, he did it, he got a lot more than he bargained for, and people still read about him 20 years after his feat.

      You've got to be impressed, in some manner or another...

  • Whether he makes it or blows up.... (Score:4, Funny)

    by JaredOfEuropa ( 526365 ) on Monday May 27, 2002 @08:26PM (#3592900) Journal
    ...I can't help admiring the dedication and courage of this guy, if he actually climbs into that thing and sets it off.

    There are few things as stimulating as such unbridled enthusiasm and resolve. Actual success is of less importance. Every now and then you meet a guy like this, at work or elsewhere, and I count myself lucky every time that happens. Makes my year, it does.

  • google's cache (Score:2, Informative)

    by sheol ( 153979 )
    gotta love google's cache [216.239.39.100] of the site, if only it cached the images too...

  • Cojones, maybe, but what else has he got? (Score:2, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Like everyone else, I can't reach the site now. But I'm pretty certain this is the same idiot who's been working on his single-stage hydrogen peroxide ticket to oblivion for a couple years now, right?

    He's crazy.

    Unless things have changed hugely in the last year, and that seems to be precluded by the expectation of launching later this year, he's just another idiot without much clue - but enough money to make a real big mess. Don't take it from me. This guy comes up as a topic of discussion in rec.models.rockets a couple times a year. The wonderful thing about the discussion there is that everyone has some idea of what it's like to fly rockets, and some of them really are rocket scientists (and aerodynamicists, and airframe designers, and so on) in real life.

    G'wan, get off your lazy slahdottie behind and Google for it. Dare ya!

  • Google's cache (Score:1, Informative)

    by reparteeist ( 533894 )
    Since it's already slashdotted, you can view Google's cache here [216.239.33.100]

  • seeing as though the site has be /.'ed, can anyone tell me what steers the rocket, coz I saw on a discovery channel that it's against the law for civilans to launch a guided rocket system.... can only be like a model rocket with no programmable trajectory

    Is this correct??

    Whats the difference between a rocket and a guided missile except the payload???

    Or is he planning the first 110 pount meat missile????

    • Um, if he's going to be on it, I'd figure he'd steer it.
    • it's against the law for civilans to launch a guided rocket system....
      Actually, what he's planning probably won't qualify. Reason is, at least according to his site, he plans to just launch straight up into the sky. Not guided - just straight up (and straight down!). IANAL, but it seems to me that the guided provision was intended to avoid shooting at things. Since this guy is simply shooting at the sky or, perhaps more colliqually correctly, the moon (which at 30 miles launch height, he has slim chance of hitting), he is probably out of that particular bit of hot water. On the other hand, he is certainly going to fall under a few other jurisdictions, which may or may not attempt to prevent him from comitting suicide in this rather spectacular manner.
    • He's not in the US, I don't think. US laws won't be a problem.

  • Future /. headline (Score:5, Funny)

    by NickRob ( 575331 ) on Monday May 27, 2002 @08:46PM (#3592953)
    Future /. headline:

    Rocket Guy shot down by 'Star Wars' Missle Defense system.

  • What is he doing for safety? (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Kelerain ( 577551 ) <.moc.liamtoh. .ta. .retsampam_cva.> on Monday May 27, 2002 @08:49PM (#3592962)
    The site is /.ed right now, but I'd like to know what hes doing for safety systems. Will he have other people check over his work, calculations, manufacturing etc?
    I would think NASA would be happy to lend a hand in that department, because if this goes wrong it could mean some seriously bad PR for any space related agencies. But there is great potential to reignite (no pun intended, really) interest in space, if common people can make it to space. I wish this guy the best of luck..
  • not to slashdot his computers while he's actually in space. We wouldn't want a systems crash to cause him to crash, would we?
  • "You cannot achieve the impossible without attempting the absurd."

    now appearing at the bottom of my page..

  • Not the first amateur astronaut... (Score:5, Funny)

    by Guppy ( 12314 ) on Monday May 27, 2002 @08:54PM (#3592977)
    According to legend, sometime around 1500 AD, a Chinese official named Wan Hu constructed a chair, to which numerous rockets were attached. With this device, Wan Hu intended to ascend to Heaven.

    When the rockets were ignited, there was a tremendous flash of flame and thunder. After the smoke cleared, Wan Hu was never seen again, which I suppose means he must have made it. :)
  • Check out http://www.armadilloaerospace.com. They're also trying to get manned rockets up in space. It's being worked on by a group of people including John Carmack.(Of Doom/Quake/Wolfenstein fame if you are the one person on earth that didnt't know)

  • Not going into orbit (Score:5, Informative)

    by mikosullivan ( 320993 ) <miko@idocCOUGARs.com minus cat> on Monday May 27, 2002 @08:59PM (#3592987)
    He's not planning on going into orbit, or even into space. From his page [216.239.39.100] (Google cached version):
    The goal is to go straight up 30 miles. There are no plans for orbit, just to set the altitude record for a private citizen.
  • This can't be legal... aren't there some laws about civilians launching themselves (or objects) miles into the sky?

    • Re:Rocket Guy (Score:3, Informative)

      by terrymr ( 316118 )
      FAR 101 (Federal aviation regulations) regulates what can be launched in the world of unmanned rockets - I'm not really sure what section covers manned rockets as I'm not crazy enough to sit on anything I build - I believe there is now a separate commercial space launch agency which deals with any kind of private space shot. Our local club [rocketclub.org] routinely has clearance up to 11,500 feet above ground level and higher clearances are given to launches in more remote areas.

  • There probably arn't any laws aginst this because no one else is stupid enough to try it. You can bet that there will be some new laws that say you can't hurl yourself 30 miles into the sky on a rocket without government permission.
  • I can't wait to check out the pics, but do I even need to TRY and see if the site has been Slashdotted? I guess I will browse through here for a mirror first, so I won't contribute to the problem!
  • I hope this guys rocket is a little more reliable than his web server! Than again, I don't think his rockets is going to have to take the battering that his website just did.

  • Cynicism... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Warin ( 200873 ) on Monday May 27, 2002 @09:29PM (#3593074)
    Y'know...the cynicism of people... it amazes me...

    Yeah, this guy is a bit of a nut. I cant disagree with that. But as loony as this is, he has a dream and he is going to make it happen.

    Maybe instead of derision being aimed at this guy, we should all be praying that he succeeds. I for one would love a chance to do something like this, but if we wait for NASA and/or other government agencies to make it a reality I cant see it happening in my lifetime. Unless of course you have enough money to get tthe Russians to take you. Guys like this, and all the folks working on winning the X Prize are pioneers... and deserve more that the ridicule they get from the folks around here.

    Laugh at him if you will, but what is the last daring thing you did to realize a lifelong dream? Hmmm?
    • yeah - how many people laughed at the multitude of people who wanted to fly around the world in hot air balloons ??? I don't remember anybody dying while attempting it.
    • Sometimes I really hate growing old. The first thing I saw when I read the blurb was that the guy was a nut. But you're right, no matter if he lives or dies this guy's a true hero. Almost everyone makes one compramise after another as we grow up, until even the most cherished of dreams becomes forgotten in a life of mediocrity and slavery to a time clock.

      This reminds me in a way of the upright citizens brigade. There was a classic episode where a guy who was the manager of a coffie shop relised just how he'd let his dreams of making it to space fall away. In the end he died, eaten by an alligater after his jetpack didn't have enough thrust, but it seemed like he was living more in the time he spent in training than he ever had before. That was inspiring, and it's really a shame I actually see it happening for real, with a good chance for success, and I wasn't inspired at all.

      Thanks for the wake up call!
  • From his page [archive.org]:
    THE ROCKET GUY PLAN:

    It may be a technical dream but he's just crazy enough to push that button.

    The goal is to go straight up 30 miles. There are no plans for orbit, just to set the altitude record for a private citizen. Orbit requires going at least 170 miles up and going 17,000 MPH around the earth. Lots of up and lots of sideways. Going up to a straight up to a stop and dropping back down is different.

  • Behind Schedule... (Score:5, Funny)

    by DickPhallus ( 472621 ) on Monday May 27, 2002 @09:31PM (#3593080)
    Rocket Guy Getting Closer - But No Firm Launch Date

    Well no wonder, every time he makes progress, we go and slashdot his site, so he has to redirect all his funds to bandwidth bills.
  • David Brin wrote a short story several years back on this subject. In it he had a private citizen building a rocket and launching himself into space despite the best efforts of environmentalist, etc to stop him. The rocket malfunctions and drops him into the ocean on the other side of the planet where he ends up staying with a bunch of uplifted dolphins for a few months. Excellent story, might be called "Rocket Man" or something obvious like that but I'm not sure. I'd love to find that story again.
    • Hmmm.

      I remember a story almost exactly like this, but the rocket wasn't a home-brew. Basically, people would pay to get launched into sub-orbit, then they would parachute back down. This guy's rocket didn't eject him, or the parachute wouldn't deploy correctly or something, so the "thrills company" couldn't pick him up. He was befriended by the smart dolphins, and the rest is history...
  • http://web.archive.org/web/20011031200447/www.rock etguy.com/toys/light_chaser.html

  • Safety? (Score:2)

    by Bilbo ( 7015 )
    Can't get to his site, but I'm wondering, just how big is this guy's "backyard"? Knowing the likelyhood of large rockets to suddenly go BOOM, what sort of safety protocols does he have in place to make sure he doesn't accidentally take out an entire neighborhood?

    (Of course, if he's got enough money to build a private rocket, I'm guessing he doesn't live in a typical 'burb, but most test ranges are built with many miles between them and the closest civilian areas, or they launch out over an ocean, so the rocket can safely be ditched if something goes wrong.)

    • I doubt the FAA will let him launch on US soil. (slashdotted, but I'm assuming he is a yank) I'm going to bet they launch a few miles outside international boarders in the water.
      • Brian's site (http://www.rocketguy.com/rocket.html) has many excellent pictures of the rocket and launch site (his backyard!) under construction

        So I guess that means that he is planning to launch the rocket from his backyard, which if launched from US soil would probably be somewhat illegal.
      • If its a rocket, its NASA's jurisdiction and they aren't going to touch this. Of course that won't stop the FAA from busting the guy unless he follow their procedures. Too bad they don't have enough procedures for this sort of thing. If he refuses to follow their procedures he will end up with a big fine from them but they are powerless to stop him. He could get busted from endangering the lives of others but thats a hard thing to do before he lights the fuse.
  • I suggest you all check back here [darwinawards.com] at a later date to check up on his progress.
  • The rocket guy may be going up...but his server has gone way down!
  • if i were him i would send the rocket up with a dead weight in it before going there my self.
  • "Attention all planets ...."

  • Illegal anyone? (Score:2, Interesting)

    by hostage89 ( 461006 )
    I am sure that someone has said this already... but this has go to be illegal. I mean you need a license to pilot an aircraft over U.S. territory why not one for this. Anybody want to explain this to me?
    • You need clearance from your countries aviation authority before you do things like this, for all the obvious reasons, like launching into the underside of a 747 flying over and such.

      The shuttle is acutally designated as "experimental" under the US's FAA rules.
      In fact, if you've got a shot of one of them, the words "experimental" are usually near the cockpit underneath the shuttle name. Not a reasurring sight for astronauts, I'm sure ;-)
  • Well, I read the google cache and can't find any details, but there are three very obvious points to be made here. 1. This individual has read Dave Barrys' Guide to Guys one too many times. 2. He FULLY qualifies as a "Guy". 3. He is clearly not married. Bill

  • For comparison.... (Score:2, Informative)

    by Mulletproof ( 513805 )
    The highest balloon flights attempted...

    1961 [pbs.org] -- Current Official Altitude Record Set: Commander Malcolm Ross and Lieutenant Commander Victor A. Prather of the U.S. Navy ascend to 113,739.9 feet (just over 20 miles) in 'Lee Lewis Memorial,' a polyethylene balloon.

    1958 [af.mil] -- Project Manhigh, Major Simons takes his balloon to an altitude of 101,516 feet.

    I wish this guy good luck. I'll be impressed if he launches, more impressed if he returns in one piece, but let him orbit the Earth a few times before calling him an astronaut. Hmmm... I know Mr. Chuck Yeager wouldn't be too happy with that comment.

  • It's unstable (Score:4, Informative)

    by Animats ( 122034 ) on Tuesday May 28, 2002 @01:32AM (#3593684) Homepage
    The "exhaust in the nose, stabilize by gravity" approach doesn't work. Tailfins work in atmosphere, and active stabilization works, but putting the exhaust in the nose, pointing rearward, does not impart any stability. When the rocket tilts, the thust angle goes with it.

    Goddard tried that in his first model. "In his earliest rockets, he placed the engine at the top of the vehicle and the fuel tanks below. However, he soon found that this "nose drive" arrangement was too unstable, so he placed the motor at the bottom, as in all modern rockets."

    More specifically, Goddard's 1926 rocket (Goddard 1) reached an altitude of 41 feet. (Not 41,000 feet, forty-one feet.) It was really just an engine test vehicle. Goddard 2 was the same design, 20x bigger, and was a failure. Goddard 3 caught in the launch tower a few times, and finally flew 205 feet. Goddard 4 reached 2000 feet. Goddard 4 used various control systems; remote control was tried, then eight gyro-controlled vanes. Goddard A made short flights without a control system, then 1000 feet up (but 11000 feet horizontally - oops) with a pendulum-controlled stabilizer that didn't work very well.

    Once Goddard got gyro-controlled stabilization working, things got much better. Goddard A reached 4800 feet, then 7500 feet. WWII interrupted further experimentation.

    The German V-2 was actively stabilized with gyro controlled vanes in the exhaust. Those big tailfins didn't do the whole job. Since then, rockets have dispensed with the fins and relied entirely on the control system.

    Rocket Guy has to have been told this by now. He must be in denial about the stability problem.

  • I've had a look at his site. Believe it or not, he's done a lot of work including:

    1. Unmanned test flights
    2. Safety reviews
    3. Actually talking with govt. agencies.


    It is easy to be negative, but I don't believe the guy is going to ride a rocket until he is d*mn sure he'll come down again in one piece. A lot of nay-sayers said that we'd never fly. A lot of people don't even believe we got to the moon.
    Neither is he even going into space. He is going 30 miles up, using a far less explosive fuel than normal rockets. And before he gets in, you can be sure that he'll already have done enough test flights to be sure he'll get out in one piece.
    All in all, I believe that if he does the flight, he is relatively likely (75%+) to survive.

    No progress has been without risk, but I believe that he is unlikely to kill himself. And if he does, it is his life he risks - no one else's. He is doing the right thing.
  • How many of the people reading this havce really checked out the guys site? He has done a *lot* of planning, and is in touch with a lot of people who know what they are doing - e.g. he has done some Cosmonaut training in Russia. Most of the critics seem to have jumped to the conclusion that this guy is a lone nutter in a back yard. He isn't.

    He is trying to do less that than the Gemini missiona in the early '60s. Admittedly, thosw were powered by great lumps of Government money. But 40 years of rocket and control system technology, modelling systems etc. will help enormously. I don't reall see this as more risky than those early NASA launches, as narrated in "The Right Stuff" - and probably quite a bit less. I would give him good odds of succeeding.

  • Let's do a Slashdot interview with this guy! (Score:3, Interesting)

    by grytpype ( 53367 ) on Tuesday May 28, 2002 @11:48AM (#3595246) Homepage
    Isn't it time we give him a chance to explain himself, since he's been featured on /. about a dozen times, and he has been called every possible kind of idiot by us?

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