Suborbital home made rockets

a reply to: Arbitrageur

We considered launching from international waters for the CATS prize as well; in fact, our closest rival actually designed their entry as a sea launch and intended to launch from a location in the Gulf of Mexico.

The problem was, as we were informed, we were US citizens, and as such, would be held in violation of multiple laws (illegal possession and use of explosives, unauthorized intrusion into commercial airspace, reckless endangerment, the whole Book), and would be arrested and prosecuted immediately upon our return to US soil.

Which is why we spent so much time (and money!) establishing the bureaucratic “infrastructure”.