If the Copenhagen Suborbitals' main rocket has a big problem during launch, this Launch Escape System (a rocket connected to the capsule containing the pilot) will blast the capsule away from the rocket (hopefully before a big explosion!). Photo; full-scale test last year. The pilot inside will be wearing a slimmed-down, highly-specialized version of my pressure suit in the event of cabin decompression due to the crazy shocks of such a maneuver :)
We start in August, when I'll visit Copenhagen to start integrating my suit design to their capsule. Great thing about a DIY space program = no flags unless you want to (maybe a UN flag representing humanity???), no having to carry anyone's military payloads (because they're the only ones who have any $!), no BS about having to answer to the short attention span of politicians who control federal discretionary spending, no limits to the risks you can take to keep taxpayers and contractors happy with the 'risk level', something you set yourself. Ahhh, freedom, disconnecting space exploration from Feds everywhere :)
I'll test-pilot their capsule suit in my project's balloon flights to 50k feet, just as was done to test Mercury / Soyuz suits in the late 50's :)
This weekend, a significant test of the pressure suit with many modifications that I think will start to stabilize the system for the summer's altitude chamber tests.
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