Bob’s space program. RIP.

A few weeks back, there was an obituary in the New York Times for one Robert Truax. Mr. Truax, who died at 93, was described as a “top rocket scientist.”

He did a lot of interesting and impressive things. For example, he worked on early missiles, notably the Minuteman and Polaris. He also designed the rocket-powered motorcycled that Evel Knieval used in an attempt to jump the Snake River Canyon.

Bob’s Space Program

But, perhaps the most interesting program he ever took on was “Bob’s Space Program.” Yes, in the early 1980s, only the United States and the Soviet Union had sent people into space. With his own low budget space program, Bob Truax intended to become the 3rd spacefaring power.

With thousands of volunteers and his own rocketry expertise, he tried to put together the world’s first space tourism company—decades before Richard Branson and others appeared on the scene. His planned re-usable tiny space shuttle, called the Skycycle X-3 never materialized. But Bob worked on it seriously for a long time. He acquired excellent components at bargain basement prices—old NASA surplus parts. He was contemplating selling rides into space for $10,000 each. (By comparison, Virgin Galactic plans to charge $200,000 for a ride on SpaceShipTwo.)

Bob Truax died in September at age 93, just as the age of private space flight is finally beginning to appear.