A guinea pig named Galaxionaut is aiming to follow Richard Branson and Jeff Bezo into space as part of a Congolese DIY rocket programme.
Patrice Keka, 51, is an engineer, physicist and mathematician who is intending to send the intrepid rodent high above the earth’s atmosphere.
Galaxionaut will be sent as a passenger and then sail back to earth in a parachute as a test to see if Congolese people would survive the mission.
A guinea pig named Galaxionaut (pictured) is aiming to follow Richard Branson and Jeff Bezo into space as part of a Congolese DIY rocket programme
Patrice Keka (pictured), 51, is an engineer, physicist and mathematician who is intending to send the furry astronaut in the first rocket to enter space from Africa
Mr Keka has fashioned the metal rocket out of recycled oil drums and he intends to launch it 120 miles above the earth.
The inventor has previously launched five rockets since 2007, three of them successfully, with the furthest travelling more than 20 miles away from earth.
Space begins at an altitude of 60 miles meaning his next rocket would far exceed the limits of the earth’s atmosphere.
The latest of Keka’s creations is called Troposphere 6 and he believes everything has been calculated to perfection.
The rocket, which cost just £110,000 to build, should soar up then return to earth in a ballistic curve, he told Bild.
Mr Keka has fashioned the metal rocket out of recycled oil drums and he intends to launch it 120 miles above the earth
The scientist sketched out a drawing of the rocket, showing its different floors with the GPS system and oxygen tank on board heading into the galaxy, before the capsule containing the guinea pig falls to earth
Galaxionaut will be sent as a passenger and then sail back to earth in a parachute as a test to see if Congolese people would survive the mission
There is no space programme in the Congo, where 80 per cent of the population live on less than a pound a day.
Keka raised most of the money himself with help from Swiss scientists who contributed a third of the funds.
Meanwhile Sir Richard Branson spent an estimated £1 billion on his Virgin Galactic project which took him to space this month, just days before Jeff Bezos joined him days later.
The Amazon billionaire sent in 2017 he financed the Blue Origin project with around £720 million of company stock each year.
Mr Keka’s construction has three floors and is 50ft high.
The inventor has previously launched five rockets since 2007, three of them successfully, with the furthest travelling more than 20 miles away from earth
Keka raised most of the money himself with help from Swiss scientists who contributed a third of the funds
On the first floor is a metric ton of solid fuel in a shell made of oil drums, which gives the first boost to the rocket, together with two boosters carrying 50kg of fuel.
The boosters should drop after three miles and the first floor of the rocket will detach after six miles.
Mr Keka said: ‘By then we have to have reached Mach 2.5 speed so that the engine on the second floor can ignite.’
Sensors will monitor the temperature and pressure in the capsule housing Galaxionaut while a ventilation system will also regulate it to keep the animal alive.
A camera will relay images to earth during the historic mission.
The guinea pig has been in training in southern Congo, and has been placed in a centrifuge to imitate space conditions
The guinea pig has been in training in southern Congo, and has been placed in a centrifuge to imitate space conditions.
The capsule containing Galaxionaut should return to Kinshasa should the mission be successful.
Mr Keka is planning the launch in a few weeks time from the village of Ngume, which prime minister Jean-Michel Lukonde has promised to attend.
The rocket scientist said: ‘If everything works, I want to put telecommunications satellites into orbit for our country – and offer space tourism.’