How America Lost Its Way
Posted: Sun Jun 09, 2013 11:34 pmI helped start a business that failed because of the endless government paperwork. I was VP and COO of Transorbital. Our goal was to launch a lunar video orbiter in early 2000s and return HD video close up of the lunar surface as a commercial product. I went to Moscow and got a contract to buy an ICBM for the launch vehicle, a steal at $250,000.
But US.gov required us to get a NOAA license, because our spacecraft would have a camera that would image the Earth. And then ITAR (International Trafficking in Arms Regulations) required 2 years to process our permits to use a Russian launch vehicle.
In the end we did launch a dummy test spacecraft on a Denpr out of Baikonur, our block of concrete remains in Earth orbit today. It was a test of companies integration, more than anything else.
Because China and India were making plans for their lunar orbiters in the 2004 time frame, we never were able to raise the millions needed to complete the project, what remains is the detritus of the website, transorbital.net. The company was killed by government delay. They stole our momentum.