Rocket Guy Getting Closer - But No Firm Launch Date

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.

Comments

What is he doing for safety?

[Kelerain]

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..

Cynicism...

[Warin]

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?

Re: "Space" and "space environment"

[rjkimble]

I think you may want to reconsider calling 10 km the threshold to outer space. By that definition, anybody who has ever flown across the country is an astronaut. 10 km is roughly 33,000 feet after all. Hell, folks who have climbed to the top of Mount Everest would nearly qualify by that yardstick.

I don't think he will kill himself.

[term8or]

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 people have really checked out the site?

[AlecC]

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.