A Space Rocket for the Common Man

By Wei Tchou, November 22, 2016

To look up at night is to confront the enormity of the universe and of our own insignificance. But when the satellite Sputnik was successfully launched into Earth’s orbit, in 1957, the cosmos was transformed into a place that was, if not completely comprehensible, then at least a little bit closer. More recently, residents of planet Earth have tackled the galaxy by selling tickets for planned civilian space-travel expeditions and shooting three-hundred-and-sixty-degree video from the International Space Station. All these efforts have required the advantages that come with government coffers or vast personal wealth. Ky Michaelson wanted to engage the cosmos with nothing but enthusiasm and a gift for mechanics. More than a decade ago, Michaelson, who is known as Rocketman and who founded the Civilian Space eXploration Team, became fixated on an attempt to launch a rocket into space. He described himself then as “a guy that could barely read and write, with no education, no college, no nothing,” though this biography is, in fact, a bit too modest. His ambitious interest in rocketry has led to a remarkable amateur career: he has put rockets on everything from rollerblades to wheelchairs, and his rocket-powered vehicles have set seventy-two land-speed records. When he tried to shoot a rocket out of Earth’s atmosphere, however, Michaelson ran up against a force even more challenging than scarce funds or unorthodox materials: the federal bureaucracy. Michaelson and his team worked tirelessly to cut through the red tape of paperwork and authorizations, but, the day before their planned launch, they were still missing the government approval needed to hit the button. This short documentary by Colette Sandstedt finds the Civilian Space eXploration Team mere hours from launch, exhausted and losing hope that they will achieve their goal, when suddenly they encounter some very unexpected desert allies.

Wei Tchou is a member of The New Yorker’s editorial staff.

Link to article http://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/a-space-rocket-for-the-common-man