Morris Jarvis, who works for Intel, and a team of enthusiasts built the craft, dubbed Hermes, in the garage of his suburban Phoenix home with the help of technology companies like Intel, Dot Hill and Microsun.
“It’ll be ready to fly into low earth orbit within a year,” Jarvis told vnunet.com.
“All we need now is some extra funding but $1.5 million would get it airborne.”
Initially the flights will involve using a balloon to lift the craft and passengers to 113,000 feet before detaching and then being piloted back to earth.
The next stage is to attach a booster and take it higher so that passengers can experience about 15 minutes of weightlessness.
Jarvis estimates that the trip will cost about the same as a family car.
Garage space shuttle lands at IDF
A space enthusiast who built a working space shuttle in his garage has been showing the craft off at this year’s Intel Developer Forum (IDF)..
Add iTnews as your trusted source
Got a news tip for our journalists? Share it with us anonymously here.
Partner Content
.jpg&h=140&w=231&c=1&s=0)
Partner Content
From data overload to decisive action – accelerating decisions with AI agents
.png&h=140&w=231&c=1&s=0)
Promoted Content
From ambition to impact: The next era of government transformation.
.jpg&h=140&w=231&c=1&s=0)
Promoted Content
Australian mid-market businesses to access deeper AI and security expertise with First Focus-Integris partnership
.jpg&h=140&w=231&c=1&s=0)
Promoted Content
Protecting the Human Operating System: How Technology Teams Can Perform Under Pressure in an Always-On World
.jpg&w=100&c=1&s=0)
.png&w=100&c=1&s=0)
iTnews State of Security Breakfast Sydney
iTnews Executive Retreat - Security Leaders Edition - VIC
.png&h=140&w=231&c=1&s=0)
.png&h=140&w=231&c=1&s=0)
