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Homemade Rocket Successfully Launches

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Key Takeaways:

  • Danish "open-source" group Copenhagen Suborbital successfully launched a dummy in their HEAT 1-X rocket and Tycho Brahe capsule from the Baltic Sea, marking a significant step toward human spaceflight.
  • Developed by space enthusiasts for an exceptionally modest cost of around $75,000 through private contributions, the project showcases an amateur yet remarkable achievement.
  • Following a previous launch failure attributed to unconventional issues, the team plans further unmanned tests before co-founder Peter Madsen attempts a manned flight in the cramped, single-person capsule.
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A rocket carrying a dummy achieved a successful launch last month from a platform in the Baltic Sea. The craft, created by Danish group Copenhagen Suborbital over the course of the last few years, was aiming for an altitude of around 50,000 feet for the launch; it is not yet clear what altitude the HEAT 1-X rocket booster and the Tycho Brahe capsule achieved.

The September 2010 flight failed to achieve full burn, a result, reports say, of a consumer hair dryer failing and a nozzle icing up. (You can’t make this stuff up.)

Isabel Goyer

A commercial pilot, Isabel Goyer has been flying for more than 40 years, with hundreds of different aircraft in her logbook and thousands of hours. An award-winning aviation writer, photographer and editor, Ms. Goyer led teams at Sport Pilot, Air Progress and Flying before coming to Plane & Pilot in 2015.

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