Microsoft co-founder Paul unveils space project
Microsoft Corp co-founder Paul Allen is planning to make a future spaceship that could replace the Space Shuttle and put paying passengers into orbit this decade. Microsoft co-founder Paul unveils space project.
Paul’s rocket will be launched from what will be the world’s biggest plane, a massive carrier aircraft powered by 6 jumbo jet engines, to be built by Scaled Composites, a unit of defense contractor Northrop Grumman Corp. Its wingspan will be about 385 feet (117 meters), 70% longer than the wings of a Boeing 747.
The rocket itself will be made by private space company SpaceX, created by Elon Musk, the billionaire co-founder of PayPal. The first test flight is targeted for 2015 with the first commercial flight the year after.
According to reports, Allen said I have long dreamed about taking the next big step in private space flight. To offer a flexible, orbital space delivery system. The new company to manage the project, called Stratolaunch Systems, has the slogan Any orbit. Any time.
Allen is the world’s 57th-richest person, with a fortune of $13.2 billion. His space ambitions put him alongside Musk and Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos, whose Blue Origin aims to put people into space at an affordable price, rather than the millions of dollars it has cost up to now. Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic is also looking to transport passengers into sub-orbital space in 2014 for about $200,000 a trip. It already has nearly 500 reservations.
Tags: Microsoft, Paul Allen, Space
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