AstraGate
Concept Led By: N/A
Companies Involved: TransAstronautics Corporation
Some spacecraft designs that were denied are relatively historic, but this is fairly recent. The TransAstronautics Corporation was involved in this, as they proposed a plan, now known as AstraGate, which involved a transportation system from the Earth to the Moon. Essentially, this system would be built between the Earth and Moon, which happens to be just under 240,000 miles. Yet their plan, in spite of the incredible distance and cost of materials, would be to save money on fuel. Rather than a propellant, the system would involve the transfer of energy and momentum between inbound and outbound vehicles.
This crazy feat would be accomplished thanks to AstraGate stations, of course. The system’s design upfront was to create an affordable opportunity for middle-class people to go both to and from the Moon. Plus, the Moon would have a Lunar Research Center on it. Thus allowing scientists and researchers to conduct experiments. The Innovative Advanced Concepts group at NASA heard the idea in 2018 and then again in 2019. Somehow, it made it through the second round of talks but never further. Spacecraft designs like this may never occur if left to government budgets. Perhaps a very wealthy private corporation could do something like this one day.