Ghostrider
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Building a rocket able to "touch space" would mean having it go beyond 100km altitude. If we're talking unmanned, it's certainly feasible and it has been done before. However, Conestoga clone or sounding rocket, it's still a guided missile and I imagine there's going to be some serious red tape to cut through.
We need guidance, this is certainly easier now than a couple of decades ago because we could use a single computer to run rocket guidance, telemetry, on-board diagnostics, avionics AND an experiment payload should we want to include one (and why not), and it would fit in a tight and light package.
We need propulsion, and here's the catch. Conestoga used surplus Minuteman stages and my local gun store doesn't sell them (I know, I asked). Making up a solid rocket engine from scratch is going to involve a LOT of experimentation which may result in unwanted rapid exothermic reactions (explosions followed by fires). This won't go down well even with the most scientific-minded neighborhood, and you'll get some attention from the authorities pretty fast.
Then, if you've got the thingie assembled, you've got yourself a weapon because that's what a guided missile happens to be at heart. Any projectile capable of exceeding 100km of altitude will require some HEAVY red tape to cut through to store, let alone to use.
It IS possible, but I have half an idea that bureaucracy may prove a more formidable obstacle than physics and chemistry.
We need guidance, this is certainly easier now than a couple of decades ago because we could use a single computer to run rocket guidance, telemetry, on-board diagnostics, avionics AND an experiment payload should we want to include one (and why not), and it would fit in a tight and light package.
We need propulsion, and here's the catch. Conestoga used surplus Minuteman stages and my local gun store doesn't sell them (I know, I asked). Making up a solid rocket engine from scratch is going to involve a LOT of experimentation which may result in unwanted rapid exothermic reactions (explosions followed by fires). This won't go down well even with the most scientific-minded neighborhood, and you'll get some attention from the authorities pretty fast.
Then, if you've got the thingie assembled, you've got yourself a weapon because that's what a guided missile happens to be at heart. Any projectile capable of exceeding 100km of altitude will require some HEAVY red tape to cut through to store, let alone to use.
It IS possible, but I have half an idea that bureaucracy may prove a more formidable obstacle than physics and chemistry.
