Moonspike

Moonspike was the original name of Orbital Express Launch Ltd. (Orbex Space).

It was the brainchild of Danish architect, Kristian Von Bengtson and German resident, Chris Lamour, in which they planned to launch a rocket to the moon, which would then deploy a titanium spike on a journey to the surface of the moon.

The pair attempted to crowdfund the bizarre plan instead of using their own funds. However, their attempt to raise £600,000 failed dramatically, raising less than 20% of their targeted amount.

Lamour and Von Bengtson then abandoned the project as the Danish population clearly weren’t behind the project.

The unusual duo then changed the name of their company to Orbital Express Launch Ltd. (trading as Orbex Space) and moved their sights to the British government for funds, eventually raising £5.5 million in grants from the UK Space Agency in 2019.