Homemade Astronauts

Homemade Astronauts is a television show on The Science Channel (Discovery Science USA) and Discovery+, that started airing in 2021. It featured DIY wannabe astronauts, who design and build their own equipment, in an attempt to reach the edge of space. The people are average Americans building on their farms, ranches, garages, backyards.

History
Mike Hughes reached 1875 ft altitude in a manned steam rocket in 2018, filmed for the series, setting a record for an amateur manned rocket.

Discovery Networks gave the greenlight for full series production in 2019, for airing on The Science Channel in 2020.

In February 2020, during filming an attempt by Mike Hughes to reach 5000 ft or 1 mi in altitude, the steam rocket crashed on landing, killing Hughes.

In March 2020, the show filmed an attempt by Kurt Anderson to break the world ice speed record in his rocket sled Arctic Arrow using a peroxide rocket, with the Rocketboys team. The attempt resulted in a crash that destroyed the dragster sled, just shy of the record, reaching 241 mph, short of the record of 247 mph.

Season 1 began airing in May 2021, having been filmed over 2.5 years, for a total of 4 episodes. Season 1 carries a dedication This series is dedicated to Michael "Mad Mike" Hughes 1956-2020. And it uses the title crawl "The new DIY space race is here. Tech giants Everyday people are making history. They're using their billions credit cards to fund their dreams."

Cast
Featured on the show include:
 * Team Hughes/Stakes
 * Mike Hughes, professional daredeveil, wannabe astronaut
 * Waldo Stakes, vehicle designer; builder of Hughes' manned rocket
 * Stephanie, Waldo's daughter and team member
 * The Rocketboys (Team Michaelson/Anderson)
 * Ky Michaelson, SFX artist and stuntman and amateur rocketeer, who in 2004 built the first amateur rocket that reached space at zenith of 72 mi up;
 * Kurt Anderson, Rocketboys mechanical engineer, and Arctic Arrow rocket sled dragster pilot, wannabe astronaut
 * David, Rocketboys electronics engineer
 * Buddy Michaelson, son of Ky, Rocketboys parachute expert
 * Pacific Space Flight (Team Smith)
 * Cameron Smith, doctor of anthropology and archaeology, and Portland State University anthropology professor, wannabe astronaut, who built his own spacesuit, and wanting to go to the edge of space
 * Majorie, a student and part of Team Smith

Teams
Teams shown include:
 * The Rocketboys: (Team Michaelson/Anderson) using a solid fuel rocket; attempting to build a manned space rocket to reach the edge of space (50 mi), the McDowell Line
 * Team Hughes/Stakes, using a balloon launch steam rocket rockoon to reach 62 mi up, the Karman Line
 * Pacific Space Flight: (Team Smith) using a balloon; to reach the Armstrong Line (63000 ft or 20 km), in a high altitude balloon