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posted by martyb on Monday August 22 2016, @06:03AM   Printer-friendly
from the good-fast-cheap-pick-two dept.

The European Space Agency has about 2,000 staff and spends €365m a year on human spaceflight. Commercial spaceflight company SpaceX employs more than 4,000 staff and raised about $1bn in funding in January 2015. Common wisdom has it that this is the kind of organization, and money resources, you need to get humans into space.

Now a rag-tag team of about 50 volunteer physicists, engineers, mathematicians, software developers, sysadmins, pyrotechnicians and even a deep-sea rescue diver attempts to challenge that wisdom, by sending a manned capsule 100km above sea level, past the Karman line dividing Earth's atmosphere from outer space.

Their materials: anything they can salvage, off-the-shelf equipment, a 300 sq metre hangar at a closed shipyard near Copenhagen [Denmark] and a launchpad in the Baltic Sea. Their timeline: 5 to 10 years from now. Their budget: about €175,000 annually.

Rocket science is still rocket science, but since the golden age of spaceflight from 1950 to 1970, much of the theoretical basis has become public. There is still a long way from textbook to a flying rocket, but with enthusiasm, solid engineering skills and good craftsmanship, we make the impossible possible. (from their website)

Of course it is ridiculous to presume Copenhagen Suborbitals, the name of this collective, will ever succeed. When hell freezes over, turkey and apple pie will fly directly into my mouth, manna drops from heaven etcetera -- these guys are delusional.

Yet Copenhagen Suborbitals has already managed five rocket launches, more than a hundred engine tests and four versions of its space capsule since 2008. Maybe, just maybe, the right methodology matters more than the available budget. So, what if, against all the odds, this bunch of nerds manage to launch a human into space using open source software and off-the-shelf hardware, on a shoestring budget?


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  • (Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 22 2016, @08:32AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 22 2016, @08:32AM (#391514)

    It's Denmark we are talking about. Nobody is afraid of us, not because we don't have the technology, but because the country is so freaking small. We *have* to be on friendly terms with all of our neighbors, because any of them could invade the entire Country of Denmark in a day (Germany did it in a day in 1940). Well, maybe except Norway, but that's because they are even friendlier than we are.

    To show just how small we are, we are in the process of upgrading our national air force with new fighter jets, replacing *all* of our existing fighter jets. After a lot of debate, it was decided to buy 22 fighter jets (that's twenty two, no missing zeroes). And that is going to take our entire defense budget for the next 20 years.

    Back to the rockets, these rockets are being launched from a floating platform between Denmark and Sweden, and both Danish and Swedish defense give their go before each launch.

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 22 2016, @08:55AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 22 2016, @08:55AM (#391523)

    If you're so friendly, why do you need twenty two fighter jets? Two fighter jets should be more than enough for you.

    • (Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 22 2016, @09:34AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 22 2016, @09:34AM (#391536)

      Because they need to be NATO fodder "when Putin invades Russia". The plan is to relocate their entire military to an island named Bornholm and await destruction there. DK's call sign is "Takes One For The Team".

      Right after the execution of this brave plan, there will be a long-awaited communist uprising, and DK will join the Russian Federation --over the rejoicing of 15% of the population, the objection of the other 15%, and the "meh" of the rest.

  • (Score: 2) by stormwyrm on Monday August 22 2016, @12:24PM

    by stormwyrm (717) on Monday August 22 2016, @12:24PM (#391582) Journal
    I'm pretty sure though that Lil'Kim of the DPRK is very interested in how to make intercontinental ballistic missiles on a shoestring budget. The fact that Lil'Kim and people like him have an interest in that kind of work means that the national security establishments of various nations will also take notice if it ever looks like they might be getting close to success.
    --
    Numquam ponenda est pluralitas sine necessitate.