Space Travel Experimentation 101

Make Your Own Space Ship - Space Travel Experimentation 101

A few years ago, I visited the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) Show. Everything was interesting, but what really attracted me was the NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) Exhibit. I did not expect to see it at the EAA show. 

I asked the NASA representative whether there was an Experimental Spacecraft Association, similar to the EAA. The person looked at me strangely. Keep in mind this was about 10 years ago. No, they said, only governments do space research. Well, today, we know that is not true, with Private Space Flight. 

As I walked around the EAA show some more, my mind wandered back to the Salvage 1 TV series in the late 70's. This series was exciting and made a lot of sense to me. In this science fiction program, average people made a spacecraft from salvage materials. Then and now, I think why couldn't someone do that? Well, maybe someone can, as I found out in Internet searching. 

In writing this article, I did not find an "Experimental Spacecraft Association" on the Internet. There is discussion of it, but no actual organization. 

Here is the Internet search string I used - experimental (space-craft OR space-ship) (amateur OR society OR organization OR group OR association). I did however find some interesting building blocks to build on. The History of Experimental Rocketry Organizations is a history to date of amateurs working on "experimental spacecraft". 

Expanding my thinking to space travel, in general, I changed my search string to - experimental (space-travel OR space-flight) (amateur OR society OR organization OR group OR association). With this new string, I found The Planetary Society, which has various opportunities for participation. There did not seem to be much on amateur experimentation, back yard tinkerers, etc. 

The best search string for rocket based space travel was - (space-travel OR space-flight OR space-craft OR space-ship) (amateur OR society OR organization OR group OR association). Using that string, I found several other organizations. 

In all my searching, what excited me the most was "Cambridge University Spaceflight is a student run society founded in 2006 comprising undergraduates and postgraduates from many disciplines. We aim to develop the technology needed to reduce the cost of sub-orbital access to space for scientific research, in the form of high altitude balloon launches, designing rockets, and other related experiments." 

I am hoping this article will stimulate interest in average people tinkering with space travel, much like amateurs in the early days of radio. 

Who knows if you will be the one to make the next Space Travel breakthrough?

 

Disclaimer - Article is for information only. Of course, be safe in your experiments. Seek professional help, as needed, and check local laws on such activities.