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"Go straight up until you leave the atmosphere and then fall down" is a radically different proposition than reaching orbit. You could lift an unprotected human

"Go straight up until you leave the atmosphere and then fall down" is a radically different proposition than reaching orbit. You could lift an unprotected human being to space with a 700kg rocket. Getting him to orbit would require a 9,000kg rocket.

walrus01 8y ago
Yes, exactly, amateurs have gone well above 100km (62.5 miles). https://rocketry.wordpress.com/2014/08/18/amateur-rocket-team-launches-rocket-to-73-1-miles/ https://rocketry.wordpress.com/2014/08/18/amateur-rocket-tea...
- cyberfart 8y ago
  To be clear, only one amateur rocketry team (the one in the link) ever made it to space.
  - plugger 8y ago
    And to be honest a reasonable portion of that team was made up of aerospace professionals. You kinda expect to win your local basketball comp if you have a team with more than one NBA player slumming it for the love of the game.