Build Date: Sat Aug 8 08:10:23 2026 UTC
Nothing exists until or unless it is observed. An artist is making something exist by observing it. And his hope for other people is that they will also make it exist by observing it. I call it "creative observation." Creative viewing.
-- William S. Burroughs
Have Rocket, Will Travel
2000-06-28 19:04:32
A man in Oregon wants to blast himself into space, and he's got the means to do so.
Brian Walker, resident of Bend, Oregon, is building a rocket in his backyard so that he can be the first private citizen in outer space.
He bought off-the-shelf rocket engines, a couple of parasails, and a lot of hydrogen peroxide for fuel. He estimates that his rocket can get him up to 30 miles above the Earth's surface. Once all of the fuel burns up, the rocket separates into two parts. The engines will deploy a parasail and be guided back to the Earth by remote control from the ground. The capsule has its own separate parasail which will be controlled by Brian himself, from inside the capsule.
With a Russian pressure suit and a lot of determination, Brian hopes to make the flight sometime this summer.
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