TransOrbital has secured the first payload customer for its commercial TrailBlazer 1 lunar orbiter, which it will launch next year. The Foundation for the International Nongovernmental Development of Space (FINDS) will pay TransOrbital for the rights to license patents or processes that result from use of the global positioning system (GPS) as a way to navigate en route to the moon and during its in-orbit flight.
San Diego-based TransOrbital is offering commercial opportunities on the TrailBlazer mission, including real-time streaming video from the moon. The $15 million mission will be launched on a Russian Strela.
Source: Flight International
