Amateur astronaut

2001/11/22 Elhuyar Zientzia

• Astronautika

The British Steve Bennett wants to be the first amateur astronaut, that is, the first man to throw himself into space with a homemade rocket.

To test the experimental rockets launched in 1992 the program Stachaser, near Manchester. Since then he has successfully launched several rockets. In 1996, for example, he launched a rocket that reached an approximate height of 800 meters and three years later, made another rocket climb to more than 5,500 meters. The fuel in the containers is based on sugar.

Now the rocket has unveiled future projects. Its intention is to launch the Nova rocket of thirteen meters at a height of 20,000 meters; in the air the rocket unfolds and falls to the ground with a parachute. If this launch is successful, you will try to make the first flight with the crew, who in the future wants to make a trip to space.

At the moment, he wants to win the X Prize for this type of research. This $10 million prize would be an important step for Bennett on his way to space.