Scaled Composites Flies World’s Largest Wingspan Aircraft, SpaceRef Business (With video) “Scaled Composites, LLC made aviation history today with the flight of the largest wingspan aircraft. During this initial flight, the team tested out specific handling qualities to validate the design.”
Paul Allen’s Stratolaunch Systems brings monster plane out of hangar for first time, Geekwire “Stratolaunch CEO Jean Floyd said the plane’s emergence from its hangar at California’s Mojave Air and Space Port was part of a “major milestone in its journey toward providing convenient, reliable and routine access to low Earth orbit.” The plane is designed to carry up to three Orbital ATK Pegasus XL rockets at a time into […]
Microsoft Co-Founder’s Space Project Is in Limbo, Wall Street Journal “The ambitious venture appears to be on hold, these officials said, because the Microsoft Corp. co-founder hasn’t announced a replacement rocket supplier for the original contractor that dropped out months ago. At this point, project officials haven’t provided even the broad outlines of technology that could be used in the future, a development timetable or how they plan to launch […]
Tech billionaires aim for cheaper spaceflight, Seattle Times “Originally, SpaceX was to provide the booster rocket; Vulcan then switched to relying on rocket-maker Orbital ATK. As recently as last fall, Beames spoke about a plan to put a human-crewed spacecraft developed by Sierra Nevada on the tip of the Orbital booster rocket. But now that human spaceflight plan is shelved, along with Orbital’s planned rocket. Beames said Orbital’s rocket “was […]
Sierra Nevada Corporation Develops Design for Stratolaunch Air Launch System for Low Earth Orbit “Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) today announced a design for an integrated system for human spaceflight that can be launched to low Earth orbit (LEO) using Stratolaunch System’s air launch architecture and a scale version of SNC’s Dream Chaser(R) spacecraft.”
Stratolaunch Systems New Design Concept [Watch], SpaceRef Business “Stratolaunch Systems unveils a new design concept for its space transportation system. With a wingspan of 385 feet, greater than the length of a football field and powered by six 747 engines, a mission range of 1,000 nautical miles and with a gross weight of 1.3 million pounds, the Stratolaunch can deliver 13,500 pounds to low earth orbit and into any orbit, […]
Stratolaunch firms up its relationship with Orbital for air-launch system, NBC News “Stratolaunch has solidified its partnership with Orbital Sciences Corp. to develop a new rocket capable of launching into orbit from what will be the world’s widest airplane. ‘We’ve been together now for nine months and working well as a team … so we’re really excited to see Orbital get started,’ Gary Wentz, Stratolaunch’s CEO and president, told NBC […]
Space Company Stratolaunch To Blast Rockets From Huge New Aircraft, Popular Mechanics “Because Rutan’s design ditches the launchpad and uses a low-cost rocket, Griffin says Stratolaunch hopes to outdo its competitors by lowering the price of going to orbit and increasing the number of launch windows. (“Any orbit. Any time” is the new company’s slogan.) “I don’t know that it’s a better way, but it’s an approach which has a […]
Paul Allen Announces Revolution in Space Transportation Stratolaunch System “Entrepreneur and philanthropist Paul G. Allen announced today that he and aerospace pioneer Burt Rutan have reunited to develop the next generation of space travel. Allen and Rutan, whose SpaceShipOne was the first privately-funded, manned rocket ship to fly beyond earth’s atmosphere, are developing a revolutionary approach to space transportation: an air-launch system to provide orbital access to space with greater […]
