Starstruck Inc. was a company cofounded by James Bennett and

Phil Salin Phillip Kenneth Salin (1950–1991) was an American economist and futurist, best known for his contributions to theories about the development of cyberspace and as a proponent of private (non-governmental) space exploration and development. Ed ...

that attempted to perform low-cost orbital rocket launches using experimental, sea-launched

hybrid rocket A hybrid-propellant rocket is a rocket with a rocket motor that uses rocket propellants in two different phases: one solid and the other either gas or liquid. The hybrid rocket concept can be traced back to the early 1930s. Hybrid rockets avo ...

s. While a commercial failure, it is an important part of hybrid rocket history, responsible for restarting commercial development of hybrid rockets. One of its core leadership was former first Apple CEO Michael Scott. It was based in Redwood City, California. The company folded after three rockets were built and one was successfully launched to suborbital space. Several veterans of Starstruck founded the American Rocket Company (AMROC),David P. Gump. (1990). Space Enterprise: Beyond NASA. Praeger Publishers, New York. pp 28-31. which also eventually failed. AMROC's intellectual property was acquired by

SpaceDev SpaceDev, a part of the "Space Systems Business" of Sierra Nevada Corporation, is prominent for its spaceflight and microsatellite work. It designed and built components for the hybrid rocket motors for Paul Allen's Tier One suborbital SpaceS ...

Sources

#Jim Schefter. (May 1984
High-tech Rockets on the Cheap. Popular Science

Sources

Notes

See also