A former Air Force pilot in Alabama is trying to raise $45 million to buy a rocket and refurbish an old Mercury space capsule, hoping to recreate John Glenn's historic 1962 solo trip into orbit.
Sound crazy? According to this piece in the Huntsville Times, Craig Russell admits his plan is a long shot indeed. But he's formed a non-profit organization called "Americans in Orbit-50 Years" to put the idea into action, and is actively raising money now.
The idea is to buy a rocket from commercial launch company SpaceX (which hasn't yet reached orbit, but plans to this year), put a refurbished or built-from-scratch Mercury capsule on top of it, and find an experienced test pilot to sit in it.
Then, on the 50th anniversary of Glenn's trip, the capsule would be shot into space, ideally completing the seven orbits that were originally planned in the Mercury mission.
According to the HT piece, Russell has a handful of well-connected people on board, including former NASA officials and early rocket scientists. But they've gotten no official help, and fundraising has, well, a long way to go.
An impossible dream? Maybe; but the space community is full of dreamers, some of whose visions actually come true. Good luck to
Russell and his team.
Space enthusiast aims to recreate Glenn flight [Huntsville Times (via Personal Spaceflight)]
(Image: John Glenn entering his Friendship 7 Mercury capsule in 1962. Credit: NASA)
