Open Source Manned Spacecraft
Description
When Kristian von Bengtson "talks about DIY space travel, it’s worth taking note. A former NASA contractor and member of the AIAA Space Architect Technical Committee, Bengtson’s plans to build a DIY manned space rocket are more than pipe dreams. Bengtson founded Copenhagen Suborbitals in 2008 with inventor Peter Madsen, a non-profit that aims to democratize travel to the final frontier. Since its inception, Copenhagen Suborbitals has already launched a number of test rockets, most recently the Heat 1X-Tycho Brahe.
Bengtson and Madsen are building DIY spacecraft they hope will take one of their brave colleagues into suborbital space. The first spacecraft was the Tycho Brahe-1, a one-man standing craft they hand-crafted over a two year period, from 2008 to 2010.
... their latest spacecraft, Tycho Deep Space. Bengston describes the craft as “a half sized Apollo-shaped space capsule with a diameter of 2 meters capable of serving one (or two) persons.” When complete, Bengston hopes the suborbital craft will convey a human passenger higher than 62 miles above sea level, allowing him the rare opportunity to escape Earth’s bonds and view the heavens from the ionosphere. Bengston is blogging about the design and building process for Wired, sharing plans and regular updates from what he’s dubbed the “(space) office”." (http://shareable.net/blog/to-the-stars-a-diy-open-source-manned-spacecraft)