August 1, 2002: Rockets - Ky Michaelson

Ky Michaelson, the legendary rocket builder who created vehicles for Hollywood movies, discusses his ambitious project to become the first civilian to launch a rocket into space. Michaelson explains the technical challenges of building amateur rockets capable of reaching orbital velocities, including his record-breaking rocket that achieved 3,205 miles per hour, the fastest speed ever recorded by a civilian-built vehicle. The conversation explores the regulatory nightmare facing amateur rocket enthusiasts, with the Space Transportation Department initially established to facilitate civilian space access but later imposing restrictions that effectively halted most private rocket development. Michaelson details the catastrophic explosion of ammonium perchlorate in Henderson, Nevada, and how such incidents have impacted the amateur rocketry community. He discusses the quarter-million-dollar prize offered for the first civilians to put a rocket in space and the technical requirements for achieving orbital insertion versus suborbital flight. The discussion reveals the frustrations of working within government bureaucracy while pursuing the dream of civilian space access decades before commercial spaceflight became mainstream. Michaelson's pioneering work in amateur rocketry demonstrates both the possibilities and perils of pushing technological boundaries outside traditional aerospace establishments.