FORKS — If this timber- and tourism-driven community were a college, Phillip Storm and Eric Meier would be big men on campus.
The 26-year-old owners and founders of Space Transport Corp., who build rockets at a city-owned warehouse at Forks Industrial Park, have a growing group of volunteers who donate their time to help the aerospace engineers.
Why? Because they like them.
“If you say Space Transport, people say ‘what?’
“But if you say Phillip and Eric, they say, ‘Oh, the space dudes!”‘ says a laughing Pat Soderlind, events coordinator for the city of Forks who voluntarily produces news releases and organized Sunday’s media coverage of the attempted launch of Space Transport’s first rocket.
And in light of Sunday’s mishap, Space Transport may need more town support.
Because the company has more than 1½ years of research and development time under its belt, Storm believes it can build a new Rubicon spacecraft in a month and try for a second launch.
Space Transport, Storm said, has raised $220,000 thus far through family members and other investors.
Of that, $190,000 has been spent on rocket development and testing. The aerospace engineers are also test-launching a 12-foot rocket, designed to carry small payloads.
Rubicon, a “suborbital tourism vehicle,” is ultimately intended to send tourists into space.
Volunteer time and money
“People just love them,” said Soderlind of Storm and Meier, adding that metalworkers, machinists and others have volunteered their time — even invested their money in the dynamic space duo — to help make them successful.
“People all over the community are proud to say, ‘We support you and think you are real good for the community,”‘ says Soderlind.
