Microsoft co-founder Allen Launches Space Project

BREAKING NEWS: This just released:
Microsoft Corp co-founder Paul Allen is planning to build a spaceship that could replace the Space Shuttle this decade.

This is pretty exciting! Another in a long list of private individuals (very rich private individuals) getting involved in space exploration and transportation.

Science Daily: Microsoft co-founder Allen Launches Space Project

Allen, 58, is hoping his new company -- called Stratolaunch Systems -- will launch unmanned rockets from a flying carrier plane to ferry government and commercial payloads into space and back, and eventually evolve to human space missions.

There's not much about the Project in the first article but here's a little more...

Allen's rocket will be launched from a massive carrier aircraft powered by six jumbo jet engines, to be constructed by Scaled Composites, a unit of defense contractor Northrop Grumman Corp. The rocket itself will be made by private space company SpaceX, founded by Elon Musk, the billionaire co-founder of PayPal.

The first test flight is targeted within five years.

"I have long dreamed about taking the next big step in private space flight," said Allen in a statement. "To offer a flexible, orbital space delivery system."

AND... just found this on the company and Project:

An artist's rendering of the Launch Aircraft (used to bring things into space)


CNET Stratolaunch

Stratolaunch Systems website

reply to post by Thermo Klein


I do believe that we are not fully out of the space game as of yet. The USA still launches satellites regularly. A s well as other objects just not know to the public.

reply to post by cocolopez


I agree - we've changed things up a bit! Space hotels, renting instead of paying for the expensive payload carriers.

If certain events happen maybe it will be a nice "universal" endeavor instead of country vs country

Hope this isn't any indication but the website failed to launch!

Anyway, the plan is to use old 747 engines and airframes and lift more than twice the Antonov at way over a million pounds. A couple less GE90-115s would provide the same thrust and less weight. A lofty schedule and plan but its their money. I would expect revisions to be made during development, but they probably are getting a good price on the 747s. Good luck gentlemen! Spruce Goose!

Until they create a much faster means of transportation, or some sort of new propulsion system that can go over 100,000 mph...flace travel is a joke.

reply to post by rationalistswagger


The Helios spacecrafts have shattered that speed, Helios-2 achieved 157,078 mph, and JUNO is expected to surpass that in 2016 as it approaches Jupiter. But I hear what you're saying.
Space travel is really not very far reaching until a percentage of light speed can be achieved, and even then, not much could be realistically reached. Even if Star Trek's warp-10 was real that only moves you around a small part of our galactic neighborhood. Consider that new 'super earth' said to be discovered, is over 600 light years away, you can do that math, basically when the TV show first came out and they headed that way they'd only be 2/3rds of the way there by now. You'd need Borg-speed, or better yet, travel with Q.

reply to post by Thermo Klein

Spruce.

Also Goose.

Let’s wait and see.