Stratolaunch May Revolutionize Space Travel

December 15, 2011 — Aerospace pioneer Burt Rutan is known for his designs of aircraft such as the Voyager, the first airplane to fly around the world without stopping or refueling, and SpaceSpaceOne, the first privately funded, manned rocket ship to fly beyond earth’s atmosphere. But he may soon be known, too, for the Stratolaunch, which will use a mothership to lift a vehicle to altitude, release it, then return to Earth as the launch vehicle rockets into space. The project is being funded by investor and entrepreneur Paul G. Allen, Microsoft co-founder. Stratolaunch will be the world’s largest airplane and be capable of launching huge payloads into space, like satellites. The composite aircraft will weigh more than 1.2 million pounds, have a 385-foot wingspan, use six 747 engines and resemble WhiteKnight, the mother plane that “carried” SpaceSpaceOne on its trek to space. “I have long dreamed about taking the next big step in private space flight after the success of SpaceShipOne – to offer a flexible, orbital space delivery system,” Allen said in a press conference on December 13. “Stratolaunch Systems is pioneering an innovative solution that will revolutionize space travel.” The air-launch system will provide orbital access to space with greater safety, cost-effectiveness, and flexibility, Allen said. The plane will be built in a Stratolaunch Systems hangar, which will soon be under construction at the Mojave Air and Space Port. Test flights are planned in five years. The mobile launch system will have three primary components: a carrier aircraft, developed by Scaled Composites, which was founded in 1982 by Rutan; a multi-stage booster, manufactured by Elon Musk’s SpaceX; and a state-of-the-art mating and integration system, built by Dynetics, allowing the carrier aircraft to safely carry a booster weighing up to 490,000 pounds. A former NASA official, Gary Wentz, was named Stratolaunch Systems CEO and president, and former NASA administrator Mike Griffin and Rutan are Stratolaunch board members. The Stratolaunch system will eventually have the capability of launching people into low earth orbit. But the company is taking a building block approach in development of the launch aircraft and booster, with initial efforts focused on unmanned payloads, according to a press release. Click here to see a video.

An artist’s illustration of the Stratolaunch, which would become the world’s largest airplane. Image credit: Stratolaunch Systems Once at altitude, the mothership will release the multistage booster and its payload, which then will blast off into space. Image credit: Stratolaunch Systems The Stratolaunch should allow for greater safely, cost-effectiveness and flexibility. Image credit: Stratolaunch Systems

• 2012 - 02/22 - Borschberg Begins Simulated 72-Hour Solar Flight
• 2012 - 02/20 - NASA Celebrates 50 Years of Americans in Space
• 2012 - 02/16 - Tiny Robots Swarm Fly in Formation
• 2012 - 02/16 - Civil War Balloon Replica to Take Flight This Summer
• 2012 - 02/09 - Application Deadline Approaches for EAA Scholarship