Something is firing in the kingdom of Danemark...

[Ghostrider]

http://nyhederne.tv2.dk/article.php/id-20920103.html

Now, will it be UMMU compatible?

 

[simonpro]

I've worked with the people involved in this project. I can say without hesitation that they're all absolutely, totally, utterly bonkers. I'm incredibly surprised that the Danish government hasn't shut them down for being a bunch of loons who'll kill us all.

Translation of the story:

Rocket enthusiasts today tested Denmark's first space rocket in Copenhagen, the people involved reported that it was a great success.

"It was fantastic, now we go for 200. It was a success", happy designer Kristian Von Bengtsson said after the test.
People have worked on the rocket since last may. Now they are planning to send a rocket into space in August, and some time three years after that they plan to send a man on a 20 minute trip into space.

As I said. All loons.

 

[Ghostrider]

I can say without hesitation that they're all absolutely, totally, utterly bonkers... a bunch of loons who'll kill us all.

Sounds like my kind of outfit.:lol:

 

[simonpro]

This is his plan for a space capsule, btw:

Blackouts ahoy!

 

[Ghostrider]

Someone should tell them: you do the fire stick, we'll do the magic carpet... Er, capsule, matey.

 

[agentgonzo]

This is his plan for a space capsule, btw:

Blackouts ahoy!

That looks about as spacious as the Mercury capsules!

There's also a fine, fine line between being an absolute loon and being a visionary genius. I'd love to work with these folks!

 

[Urwumpe]

This is his plan for a space capsule, btw:


Blackouts ahoy!

And they also have no parachute. Would be interesting when they find out.

 

[Ghostrider]

And they also have no parachute. Would be interesting when they find out.

By then they'll probably beyond caring.

 

[simonpro]

And they also have no parachute. Would be interesting when they find out.

Indeed. It also has a "passive" guidance system, yet still uses a guidance computer. The mission plan also calls for the occupant (condemned man?) to manually egress the spacecraft should the parachute fail, however he's not allowed to wear a pressure suit (no space) so he'd be at low altitude before doing so. They've also not included any instrumentation to tell you how high up you are, or if the parachute has deployed successfully.
Still, they're having lots of fun and - like armadillo aerospace - that's what counts.

 

[Ghostrider]

Still, they're having lots of fun and - like armadillo aerospace - that's what counts.

They'll also kill us all and that counts too.

Anyway, if they can make the rocket engines work, a better LV could be designed in order to carry a better-designed vehicle. Why this attitude about wanting to make the whole system...

 

[Urwumpe]

Also, you can fit a human easily into a 120 cm diameter pressure shell, with a better orientation for launch and landing.

 

[Tommy]

There's a guy here in the US somewhere who's building his own rocket (Hydrogen Peroxide) that he thinks will get him into orbit. Except for the engine, it's made mostly from fiberglass, with some carbon fiber thrown in.

 

[Pilot7893]

Better get my recorder ready. Gonna record the launch and put it to "I believe I can fly"

 

[BHawthorne]

What an inventive way of suicide. :rofl:

I think these guys need some external engineering peer review to make it a little more livable. Sure, these guys might go sub-orbital, but I'd hate to see the downward half of the trip.

 

[Pilot7893]

Personaly, it hink it would be rather funny. Like seeing that guy trying to do a handstand on a keg of beer and landing on his head when he falls down.

 

[BHawthorne]

It's the amateur rocket club version of the circus cannon clown trick. If it works, I'll be damned impressed. I'm more likely to expect a Darwin award to be awarded on this one though.

 

[Linguofreak]

It's interesting how much of the story I could understand just off of knowing German and English. (And bits and pieces of related languages).

 

[Urwumpe]

Still, they're having lots of fun and - like armadillo aerospace - that's what counts.

Armadillo aerospace is still appearing much more professional and success oriented in their endeavors.

 

[Lunar_Lander]

The capsule sketch looks a bit like the old Manhigh balloon capsule, and it was actually planned to put a Manhigh capsule on top of a Redstone Rocket for a suborbital shot (in 1957-59). If you have the time and construction of that capsule in mind, it would have been a possible system for such a flight (of course after adding RCS, TPS and so on).
But when I hear that the Danish capsule won't have an instrument panel to let the pilot know what the situation is, I'm devastated!

 

[Deke]

Someone get me a motorcycle helmet... I'm going up.