Space Transport Corporation

Space Transport Corporation, or STC, was a company based in Forks, Washington whose goal was to commercialize space. The company was founded in 2002 by and . The company planned to provide small payload launch and space tourism services. The company liquidated its assets in February 2005 ^[1] and was completely defunct by late 2006.^[2]

STC vehicles[]

Spartan[]

The Spartan Three Stage Rocket was a vehicle intended to carry payloads of 1 to 5 kg into suborbit. The rocket was tested to 80 km, and commercial launches were planned for 2005.

Nano-Satellite Orbital Launch Vehicle[]

The Nano-Satellite Orbital Launch Vehicle, or N-SOLV, was a vehicle designed to carry a 10 kg payload to orbit. The corporation planned to sell the launch service for under a million United States dollars. The vehicle's intended payload was nano-satellites.

Rubicon I[]

Rubicon I was a test vehicle designed to carry 270 kg (or three people) to 100 km for under $200,000. The vehicle was destroyed in August 2004 during a launch test due to a propellant formulation error. Rubicon I, launched by Space Transport Corporation of Forks, Washington, was the only other Ansari X Prize entrant to launch during the entire duration of the prize with the exception of Paul Allen and Burt Rutan's winning SpaceShipOne. ABC Nightline featured both the Rubicon I developers and SpaceShipOne's winning team in its 2004 presentation of the Ansari X Prize.

Rubicon II[]

The Rubicon II was the replacement to Rubicon I. The design was identical to the Rubicon I, except for a few error fixes. As of November 22, 2004, work on the Rubicon II had ceased in favor of the Spartan.

See also[]

• List of private spaceflight companies - A compiled list of private spaceflight companies
• Ansari X Prize - Ansari X Prize
• Space Fellowship - Hosts the official Masten Space Systems Forum

References[]

External links[]

• Official Space Transportation Corporation Forum
• The Stevie Austin Project Web Site (archived) - a spoof of the Rubicon disaster from the point of view of the Female Astronaut Test Dummy who was severely injured when the Rubicon crashed. "Stevie" had to be "rebuilt" by a team of medical specialists committed to her recovery - Six Million Dollar Man style.
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