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Reaction for M.E. a Space mission

I'm a rocket scientist/engineer with severe M.E.
I've come up with a potential space mission to allow someone with severe M.E. to enter space for a few minutes and glide back safely to Earth.
This can be done safely, and surprisingly cheaply, all thanks to new advances in technology that weren't available 60 years ago during the space race.

See my website: www.reactionforme.org.uk for details.

This mission has been analysed and simulated and will work. The dicotomy of a house-bound M.E. sufferer becoming an astronaut is bound to raise the awareness of M.E. and generate substantial media coverage.

All I need now at the beginning is a bit of coverage, and help to build and test some hardware. I'm based in Scotland.

Regards,

Rick 'the rocketeer' Newlands
 

Sasha

Fine, thank you
Messages
17,863
Location
UK
Must admit I think this idea could backfire (no pun intended) in terms of awareness. We need to fight the misperception that PWME just imagine that we can't do things. I think that most people who hold that misperception would see this and think, "Well, if someone with ME can go into space, they can't be that sick."

This project might be a great way to get attention but I'd rather see a healthy person go up on our behalf to raise awareness (and possibly funds) that way.
 

wastwater

Senior Member
Messages
1,271
Location
uk
I thought this was a spoof,but the more I read it the more I like it,the one thing I was wondering was,has this been done even with a healthy person.
 
Hi folks,
Thanks for your deliberations!

No, it's not a spoof, it's an achievable goal if I can raise help and funding.

As to whether an able-bodied person has performed this mission, the answer is: not yet, but all indications point to this sort of mission becoming a popular sport within a very few years, the technology to allow it has just appeared. I know of several groups that are thinking along similar lines. Felix Baumgartner parachuted from a very high altitude balloon last year to great acclaim; this is the logical next step.

A fair point raised about the danger of this endeavour back-firing. However, the ethos is to show that sufferers of M.E. don't just lie in bed complaining, they actively seek ways around their disability wherever possible; to lead any kind of 'normal' life they simply have to. I have M.E, I want to go into Space, so how do I work around the M.E. to enable me to do so?

My spacecraft is specifically tailored for an M.E. sufferer, and in particular to my flying ablilities and engineering background. If I was asked to launch someone else, I'd design quite a different craft.

To test the craft, it will need to be dropped from a balloon at high altitude; this could easily be a cluster of balloons.

Regards, Rick Newlands
 

zzz

Senior Member
Messages
675
Location
Oregon
For those of us who are the sickest - of which there is the least awareness and of whom awareness needs to be raised the most - an acceleration of 3G would be disastrous. I've described my worst days as "feeling like I'm living on a planet with too much gravity"; to be subjected to the real thing would certainly cause a relapse for me. And there are a lot of people with far worse cases of ME than mine.
Must admit I think this idea could backfire (no pun intended) in terms of awareness. We need to fight the misperception that PWME just imagine that we can't do things. I think that most people who hold that misperception would see this and think, "Well, if someone with ME can go into space, they can't be that sick."

I agree completely. There are a very large number of people with ME who could not make this trip without suffering at least a major relapse; for the sickest among us, such a trip might be fatal.
 
For those of us who are the sickest - of which there is the least awareness and of whom awareness needs to be raised the most - an acceleration of 3G would be disastrous. I've described my worst days as "feeling like I'm living on a planet with too much gravity"; to be subjected to the real thing would certainly cause a relapse for me. And there are a lot of people with far worse cases of ME than mine.


I agree completely. There are a very large number of people with ME who could not make this trip without suffering at least a major relapse; for the sickest among us, such a trip might be fatal.

It's true, 5 gee and the noise and vibration could hurt people with more severe M.E. than me, however the mission is tailored to my own M.E situation as it is at the moment. There are many M.E. sufferers who could make the trip, but I'm not asking them to, I intend to fly myself. I have been much worse in the past, so I appreciate your concerns.

Rick Newlands
 

Snowdrop

Rebel without a biscuit
Messages
2,933
@rick the rocketeer

I went to your website but couldn't find the answer to a question I have.
Do you have a timeline for this project?
Will it be happening this year?
 

ukxmrv

Senior Member
Messages
4,413
Location
London
I'd probably volunteer for this. Would be worth a relapse. I've always wanted to go into space. I'd check with a doctor first to see though if it would actually kill me though.

One quibble on your webpage.

Action for ME is a terrible charity (IMHO) and I'd not want to be associated to that.

Also I'd ask what kind of impression it would give to the media. i.e. if they can go into space then they can get a job etc.
 
@rick the rocketeer

I went to your website but couldn't find the answer to a question I have.
Do you have a timeline for this project?
Will it be happening this year?
No, it'll take a year or two; we need to do some basic research first and build and test the rocket engine. It all depends on the level of funding we can get, which in turn depends upon people knowing about the project. How does one submit an article for the Phoenix Rising frontpage?

Rick the Rocketeer
 
I'd probably volunteer for this. Would be worth a relapse. I've always wanted to go into space. I'd check with a doctor first to see though if it would actually kill me though.

One quibble on your webpage.

Action for ME is a terrible charity (IMHO) and I'd not want to be associated to that.

Also I'd ask what kind of impression it would give to the media. i.e. if they can go into space then they can get a job etc.
Hmm, the problem is that Reaction for M.E. is a play on words with Action for M.E. through Newton's law of action and reaction, also known as the rocket principle. I'm not associating myself with them in any other way though.

I do understand your concern about the media, however this shouldn't be a deterrant to doing things. I rather hope to dispell the myth that we're all couch potatoes, when my impression of M.E. sufferers that I've met is that they were very dynamic individuals before they fell ill.
Ironically, in zero gravity, M.E. sufferers will perform better than healthy astronauts because they know how to pace their movements: that's one job we could actually do!

Rick the Rocketeer
 

Snowdrop

Rebel without a biscuit
Messages
2,933
@rick the rocketeer

There are others better able to answer the submission question.
I wish you well on a personal level in your endeavour, achieving what you want to do.
However, as a person with ME I have some concerns with the project particularly being tied to Severe ME.

I am severely ill with ME which means that I am barely able to function. My husband helps with seeing that I'm fed and basic care is becoming ever more difficult. I am housebound and have many daily symptoms that would prevent an attempt of the kind you are considering. There are many severe ME sufferers here who are similarly restricted.

You are new here to PR and haven't shared anything about yourself or your situation with ME. I think if you'd like to submit an article it would probably be good to get familiar with the site. I hope while you are preparing for your journey into space that you are able to take some time to get to know more about ME as it is being revealed through the biomedical research reported here.
 
@rick the rocketeer

There are others better able to answer the submission question.
I wish you well on a personal level in your endeavour, achieving what you want to do.
However, as a person with ME I have some concerns with the project particularly being tied to Severe ME.

I am severely ill with ME which means that I am barely able to function. My husband helps with seeing that I'm fed and basic care is becoming ever more difficult. I am housebound and have many daily symptoms that would prevent an attempt of the kind you are considering. There are many severe ME sufferers here who are similarly restricted.

You are new here to PR and haven't shared anything about yourself or your situation with ME. I think if you'd like to submit an article it would probably be good to get familiar with the site. I hope while you are preparing for your journey into space that you are able to take some time to get to know more about ME as it is being revealed through the biomedical research reported here.
I'm sorry to hear of your plight. Some years ago I was hospitalised for 5 months (totally bed-bound) so I know how awful severe M.E. is. I suppose it's hard for me to quantify exactly how to define severe M.E. on my website, however from your and other's comments I've ammended my website today to indicate that I don't have the severest M.E. and that people who do couldn't undertake my mission. I can walk a bit, and do an hour or so's work on a computer, but I can't sit up for more than 30 minutes at a time, and only twice per day. As I've had M.E. for 26 years now and used to be much better, I'd categorise myself as 'moderately severe' just now.
I do read the research articles on this site wth great interest. After 26 years it looks like the science is beginning to explain what's going on, and it gives me great hope for the future.

Best wishes, Rick Newlands