Amateur Astronauts

[Silencer]

One Brian Feeney from Canada and his team plan to put the first-ever do-it-yourself vehicle into orbit. The vehicle will be initially transported to a 24 km altitude with a helium baloon, detached, and will attain orbital altitude using rocket engines.

What do you think of that? Will they succeed and loosen the grip that governments currently have on space flight projects?

 

[Gruug]

I hope someone brought some body bags.
BURN MOTHERFUCKERS BURN!

 

[Johns Volition]

heard about that...
but i seriously doubt they will suceed

 

[Will_c]

Well done to them if they do succeed, I doubt they would go through with it if they diddn't have a good idea of what they were doing. Space travel is always going to be dangerous, no matter how much money you put into it.

 

[c0ldst33ltrs4u]

Question: how big a helium balloon do they need in order to put a satellite into orbit? And who trust them enough to pay them money to do such a thing? Unless they really good equipment I doubt they could put a tin can into orbit.
Time will tell... 8)

 

[quietfanatic]

A scientist/historian is worrying that if small, private spaceflight becomes possible the great archaelogical examples of space junk, such as the site of the Apollo landing could be looted.

He is trying to get governments to sign protection treaties but is meeting little success. I think that he is jumping the gun and that only big corperations and governments can afford to run the incredibly sophisticated equipoment needed for spaceflight.

 

[Silencer]

A scientist/historian is worrying that if small, private spaceflight becomes possible the great archaelogical examples of space junk, such as the site of the Apollo landing could be looted

I doubt that. Even if private space flight became reality, it will forever be vastly uneconomic to loot anything that is as far away as the moon.

What I can imagine is pulling old satellites from Earth orbit maybe?

 

[King of Creation]

Brian Feeney and the da Vinci team will definitely NOT be the first to do this. Rather, Burt Rutan and Paul Allen will be the first, along with their SpaceShipOne team. The difference between Feeney's team and the SpaceShipOne team is that Feeney hasn't actually done anything yet. Paul Allen's team, however, has just successfully completed supersonic flight tests. Feeney, to the best of my knowledge, hasn't even tested his system out yet.

 

[Silencer]

Brian Feeney and the da Vinci team will definitely NOT be the first to do this. Rather, Burt Rutan and Paul Allen will be the first, along with their SpaceShipOne team.

You've got a valid point there, Your Majesty. Besides, I believe that the members of the American team used to work on space programs, so they have an edge on that