The Planet Strappers

Started out as The Bunch, a group of student-astronauts in the back room of a store in Jarviston, Minnesota.

They wanted off Earth, and they begged, borrowed and built what they needed to make it.

The Planet Strappers got what they wanted -- a start on the road to the stars -- but no one brought up on Earth could have imagined what was waiting for them Out There! (Goodreads)