"None of five craft engineered by the rocketeer, 45-year-old Jean-Patrice Keka, have reached space from the launch zone he built with his own money, two hours by dirt road from the capital of Kinshasa.
- Ikhide
But Mr. Keka's next creation, Troposphere VI, is more advanced. He designed the three-stage-engine rocket, nicknaming it Soso Pembe or "white rooster," to power 120 miles up, 60 miles beyond what is considered the inner boundary of outer space.
There will be passengers aboard the spaceship, six years in the making, when he launches it next year: "A few mosquitoes, a few flies," he says, and another rat.
"I will do my utmost to bring that rat back alive," he says. "But if not, there's a lot of rats in Kinshasa.""
http://www.wsj.com/articles/one-africans-personal-space-race-turns-vermin-into-astronauts-1446239060
- Ikhide
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