NYPOST.COM National News: BACKYARD ASTRONAUT’S BID FOR GLORY By LANCE LAYTNER
“…May 6, 2001 — BEND, Ore. – Self-taught rocket scientist Brian Walker plans to shoot himself into space this fall in a $250,000 rocket he built in his back yard.
For the past two years, “Rocket Guy,” as he’s known locally, has been constructing Earthstar 1, the rocket he hopes will carry him to the edge of space and then bring him back to Earth alive. …