Today's the day Forks' `space dudes' take a first step toward possible manned flight

by JEFF CHEW; FORKS — Two aerospace engineers — fondly known as the “space dudes” in this West End town — are poised today to take a supersonic leap into the commercial space race.

Space Transport Corp.’s founders Phillip Storm and Eric Meier, two young rocket scientists, were counting down Saturday to launching their spacecraft Rubicon 1 from a remote beach bluff in Queets sometime this afternoon.

They hope the successful launch will spur them closer to their first manned flight in the 23-foot-long, 38-inch-diameter spacecraft.
What they call a “simple rocket” or “suborbital tourism vehicle,” Rubicon 1 is “a go” for its first test launch today.
“I think we can make the run for the X Prize,” Storm said before he and Meier successfully tested the rockets cold gas thrusters at the Space Transport headquarters late last week.

The thrusters will provide stabilization and guidance for Rubicon at low launch speeds.
Storm and Meier are aggressively vying for the $10 million Ansari X Prize, and want to one day send tourists into space affordably.