"Danish Team's Homemade Space Capsule Blasts Off"

Wow! This is the ballsiest thing the Danes have done since Beowulf ripped off Grendel's arm with his bare hands.

Copenhagen Suborbitals, a non-profit space venture founded by Danish inventors Kristian von Bengtson and Peter Madsen, successfully launched its handmade space capsule from a boat in the Baltic Sea Friday, June 3.

The rocket soared about 2 miles into the air -- somewhat more sideways than anticipated -- before deploying its parachute and falling back into the water, reported Danish website ING.dk. It suffered minor damage upon landing but was largely recovered.

The team counts the test as a complete success. And Dr. Bruce Betts, director of projects for The Planetary Society, was impressed as well, though he cautioned that homemade one-man rockets are on a far different scale from NASA's launches.

...

"The space industry is expanding in more and more different ways," Betts told FoxNews.com. He called the rocket "part of a larger picture of different kinds of groups entering into the space arena in different ways."

From within the Tycho Brahe capsule, the lone adventurer will see the Earth fall away beneath him through a polymer plexiglas-dome, allowing the brave soul to see and experience the entire ballistic ride.

(from Fox News)

Oh, wait. Beowulf was a Geat, wasn't he? He came to the rescue of the Danes when they were being slaughtered by Grendel. Hmm. Well, this experiment to put a man into space on a small missile is still pretty ballsy, and I think Beowulf would have been impressed.


Copenhagen Suborbitals