Space program

The idea of a citizen's space program, as opposed to a government one, appeals to me. It is of course ridiculous, but one can do worse than play. If nothing else, it might shame governments into being a little more forward-thinking about making it into the space age.

On how to get into space:

• Rocketless orbit,
• The Crazy Eddie Project,
• Elevator to Space,

On what to do once you get there:

• Cylinder Ships,
• lac Lagrange

and, in support of any or all: relevant properties of some materials.

See Also

• Star of Tolerance (link broken 2004/June)
• Cosmos 1, a solar-sailing project of The Planetary Society.
• JP Aerospace, with plans to fly airships into space, is a volunteer-based space program, very much along the lines of what I'm describing here – and actually running missions to the edge of space since 1999.

The road to space becomes even more important to us now that we are within reach of an end to aging and endless fertility.

Update: mid-summer, 2004 (I think actually the day before the solstice), the first non-government astronaut made it to space and safely home again, aboard SpaceShipOne. Other exciting developments are afoot, as well.

Written by Eddy.