Starstruck Inc. was a company cofounded by James Bennett and Phil Salin that attempted to perform low-cost orbital rocket launches using experimental, sea-launched hybrid rockets. While a commercial failure, it is an important part of hybrid rocket history,Arif Karabeyoglu. (2008, May 09). Hybrid Rocket Propulsion for Future Space Launch. Aero/Astro 50th Year Anniversary. http://aa.stanford.edu/events/50thAnniversary/media/Karabeyoglu.pdf responsible for restarting commercial development of hybrid rockets.History 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.
Sources Jim Schefter. (May 1984) High-tech Rockets on the Cheap. Popular Science
Notes
See also SeaLaunch
External links American Rocket Company Records, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.