BlastOff! Corporation
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Aerospace |
| Founded | 1999 |
| Defunct | January 2001 |
| Headquarters | Pasadena, California , United States |
Number of employees | 59 (2000) |
Blastoff! Corporation was a modest aerospace enterprise based in Pasadena, California, active from 1999 until early 2001. It originated as one of Idealab's startup projects, aiming to capitalize on growing public fascination with space exploration and travel.
Summary
The firm was initially established under the name Spacelab in 1999 but soon adopted the Blastoff! brand to prevent confusion with NASA's Spacelab Shuttle module. Operating mostly behind closed doors, Blastoff! centered its efforts on space missions for entertainment purposes—flights financed through advertising revenue, media production, and merchandise sales. Unlike many comparable ventures, Blastoff! chose not to publicize its development extensively and successfully secured complete funding for its inaugural mission.
Originally intending to pursue human space tourism, the company's strategy pivoted toward launching a robotic lander and rover on the lunar surface. Its workforce expanded from under ten employees in January 2000 to nearly 59 full-time staff by October of the same year. Financial constraints ultimately forced the company to cease operations in January 2001.
Participants
Blastoff! brought together roughly 50 experts from a variety of aerospace and non-aerospace disciplines across the United States. Among them were about 35 engineers recruited from both large and small aerospace organizations. The team also included professionals specializing in finance, marketing, and mission cinematography, featuring several prominent Hollywood directors and producers. Established aerospace firms contributed as subcontractors responsible for spacecraft subsystem development.
L1 mission
The company's only mission concept envisioned dispatching a robotic lander and rover spacecraft named Lunar 1 (L1) to the Moon. This mission featured a primary Rover unit accompanied by two smaller Scout units. The flight plan entailed a direct lunar injection trajectory, eliminating the need for multiple Earth orbits prior to lunar transfer. The designated launch vehicle was the final Athena rocket before its reactivation in 2010.
The Rover was engineered to perform soft landings on the lunar surface, navigate across terrain, and sustain communication with Earth. Comparable in size and mobility to NASA's Spirit and Opportunity Mars rovers, it was designed for efficient lunar operation.
The Scouts acted as remotely operated extensions equipped with power supplies, cameras, and limited communication capabilities directly linked to the Rover. Measuring approximately six by twelve inches, these units would deploy after landing to conduct reconnaissance, identify hazards, and offer third-person video coverage of the Rover’s activities on the Moon.
The mission targeted a historic NASA Apollo landing site—most likely Apollo 11—aiming to touch down near this location at the onset of the local lunar day. This timing was intended to provide two weeks of continuous sunlight to power the spacecraft before the onset of lunar night would deplete battery reserves. Throughout this period, operators on Earth would remotely drive both the Rover and Scouts toward the Apollo site before darkness set in.
Throughout 2000, engineering efforts finalized the L1 mission plan and hardware design alongside a focused marketing campaign. Although most hardware components were ordered, insufficient funding caused Blastoff! to shut down in January 2001. As a result, the L1 project was terminated without completion or launch of either the Rover or Scouts.
References
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- General