SCI/TECH: Amateur rocket first into space

An unmanned amateur rocket was launched into space from the Nevada desert -this is the first time by a privately-built vehicle to reach into space.The CSX team mission was to create and launch the first amateur rocket into space and is part of an ongoing program that began in 1995.
BBc Amateur rocket

The Civilian Space eXploration Team's 6.5m (21ft) GoFast rocket is understood to have exceeded an altitude of 100km.

"It just roared off the pad and flew into space," said rocketeer and CSXT avionics manager Eric Knight. The GoFast rocket - named after one of the project's sponsors - lifted off from the Black Rock Desert on Monday witnessed by officials from the US Federal Aviation Administration. A 14-second burn allowed the rocket to reach an altitude of more than 100km - the official boundary of space - in about three minutes. It reportedly spent several minutes in space before beginning its descent.

This has set a major milestone in private space explorationthe next step is to send the first privately funded astronaut into suborbital space this is truely a fantastic achievement.

Related Links
Ansari X-Prize
CSXT
ATSNN-sci/tech

[Edited on 18-5-2004 by SE7EN]

awesome find man!

hopefully soon bob rutan's craft will get up there. and with all this going on, hopefully soon enough we'll have some comercial space travel. *wishful thinking*

The rocket also carried a payload of ham radio avionics. Here's a link. www.arrl.org...

I think its neat that private $ could do this. I just assumed that the USAF/NASA/FAA/UN would have a huge problem with this. "Space Junk" is already a leading problem that affects the shuttles' launch window. there are ~2000 bits of debris up there already.

One of the questions I have is about the similarity between this rocket and a scud. Nothing against CSX, but it seems like others could follow a much more sinister path.

Do you have to license a rocket?

I wonder if CSX contemplates being a 'civilian contractor' for communications/govt. etc.

Originally posted by dr_strangecraft
Do you have to license a rocket?

Yes you do, and X-Prize contestant Scaled Composits was the first fully privately funded Space Company to get it. As for what the Gov't thinks? Well they are not opposed to it otherwise they would have killed the X-Prize shortly after 96 when it was first launched. Private Space Tourism is coming very shortly and Dennis Tito was the first of many to come. Btw Scaled only need to go 160,000 ft to claim the X-Prize and people who have been following it are saying they will take it by summers end!

I've been interested in the private space sector for quite some time, though it seems like NASA has a veritable stronghold on anything be launched here in the United States.

I think it's quite a remarkable occurance; the scientists and companies who worked on this launching are impressive. I think, as well, that it suddenly "mortal-fies" rocketry: It makes it something perceptably 'human,' rather than just the work of the demigogue-esque NASA and government.

I found this article along the similar lines of this post, as well.

Also - while I couldn't find it via a quick search on Google, I remember hearing on coast to coast AM (art bell, in other words) of a man who was building his own rocket which he, himself, was going to fly. I'm not sure if anyone else has any info on it, but it seemed neat.



[Edited on 18-5-2004 by mauskov]

Your talking about The Rocket Guy i think. I saw his contraptions on Discovery Channel and he is probably gonna kill himself IMO. He is gonna do test launches though so maybe not. At first he was just gonna blast himself up to ORBIT without testing it first, but a group of NASA and Russian Scientists convinced him to test because they didn't want to see him get killed because they supported what he was doing in princapal. They wished him luck but privately they were probably thinking the same thing I was when I was watching that show. Sorry don't have any links right now I'll try to dig them up later on.

Sardion --

That's EXACTLY who I was thinking of. I kept searching "rocket man" but all I got were these strange beverage contraptions.
I'll post info once I get some.