Ecliptic Enterprises is a highly successful company that bridges the Earth and space sectors and sells to military, civil space and ground-based commercial customers. They develop “Systems for Accessing and Experiencing Space and Other Extreme Environments.”

Their key product is the internationally-known RocketCam, a small mountable video camera that captures visual data in extreme environments. They have had over 50 successful launches and a 100% success rate. RocketCam was used for the X Prize-winning SpaceShipOne missions in 2004 and several Space Shuttle launches including capture of the now-famous External Tank foam-falling incident during the post-Columbia Return-to-Flight launch in 2005. RocketCam provides “telepresence” where it’s critical.

They are now collaborating with NASA on an upcoming robotic mission to the Moon. Their commercial equipment will be used for the 2009 Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite Mission.

Ecliptic will provide, on contract to NASA Ames, the Data Handling Unit that controls and routes data from 9 onboard science instruments plus a RocketCam video camera during the payload’s descent to the lunar surface just behind a major section of the spacecraft that will crash into the surface. The resulting giant plume of lunar material will be analyzed real-time and data sent back before the science payload also crashes.

On a lighter, more down-to-Earth note, Team North American Eagle, a project dedicated to breaking the land speed record will use the RocketCam to “capture amazing footage that can be used to analyze and thrill viewers watching television documentaries.” Ecliptic provides a real success story for the Commercial Space transformation that is underway. They are clear that their success is built on product reliability and market diversification. Ecliptic touts its network of “world-class professionals from engineering, science, media, entrepreneurial and academic arenas.”

Their clients break down into thirds: 1/3 commercial, 1/3 NASA, and 1/3 Department of Defense, along with market segments in classic aerospace, nanotechnology, and entrepreneurial enterprises. Commercial Space’s blueprint for success lies in growing more organizations like this.