(often abbreviated as '''Scaled'''), formerly the '''Rutan Aircraft Factory''', is located at the
Mojave Spaceport ,
Mojave, California ,
United States and is headed by aircraft designer
Burt Rutan . The company was founded to develop experimental
Aircraft , but now focuses on designing and developing concept craft and
Prototype fabrication processes for aircraft and other vehicles. It is known for interesting designs, for its use of non-metal,
Composite Material s, and for winning the
Ansari X PRIZE with its experimental spacecraft
SpaceShipOne .
Scaled Composites was established in
1982 and purchased by the
Beech Aircraft Corporation in 1985, as a result of the collaboration on the
Starship project. In 1988, Beech's parent company, Raytheon, sold Scaled back to Rutan, who then sold it to
Wyman-Gordon . After Wyman-Gordon was acquired by
Castparts , Inc., Rutan and ten investors re-acquired the company as Scaled Composites, LLC.
Northrop Grumman , a major shareholder in the company with a 40% stake, said it would acquire the company outright on
July 20 ,
2007 . Both companies said Northrop Grumman's acquisition would not affect Scaled Composites' strategy or involve replacing Burt Rutan as senior manager.
12 The acquisition by
Northrup Grumman was completed on 24 August
2007 .
3
See Also: Scaled Composites SpaceShipOne
The company made a splash in April
2003 when it revealed that it was working on a privately funded
Spacecraft , in an attempt to win the
Ansari X PRIZE for the first private, manned spaceflight. This experimental rocket powered spacecraft was given the name
SpaceShipOne . On
17 December 2003, they announced SpaceShipOne's first
Supersonic flight, the first flight of its kind by a privately funded aircraft. SpaceShipOne successfully made this flight, reaching 68000 feet and 930mph (
Mach 1.2). The craft was brought aloft by the
White Knight carrier aircraft. On the same day,
Paul Allen , one of the founders of
Microsoft , confirmed publicly the rumors that he was the
Angel Investor behind the SpaceShipOne venture.
On
April 1 ,
2004 , the
U.S. Department Of Transportation issued the company what it called the world's first license for a sub-orbital manned rocket flight. The license was approved by the
Federal Aviation Administration 's
Office Of Commercial Space Transportation , which has backed licenses for more than 150 commercial launches of unmanned launch vehicles in its 20 years, but never a license for manned flight on a sub-orbital trajectory. The
Mojave Airport , operating part-time as
Mojave Spaceport , is the launch point for SpaceShipOne. SpaceShipOne performed the first privately funded human spaceflight on
June 21 2004.
Flight 16P on
29 September 2004 and
Flight 17P on
4 October 2004 won the X-Prize for Scaled Composites and SpaceShipOne.
Before forming Scaled Composites, Burt Rutan designed the
Beechcraft Starship , often considered one of aviation's most innovative designs. He also designed several aircraft for home builders, including the
Rutan VariEze . These aircraft are innovative because of their
Canard design: unlike a conventional aircraft, where the horizontal stabilizer causes negative lift (and reduces efficiency), the canard design causes all of the lift to be upward. Canard fliers state many efficiency and safety benefits for this configuration.
Before SpaceShipOne, Rutan was best known for his
Voyager aircraft, which his brother,
Dick Rutan , and
Jeana Yeager flew around the world without refueling, in
1986 .
Although the role was not widely publicized, Scaled also manufactured the
1988 ''Stars & Stripes'' Catamaran for
Dennis Conner 's entry of that year in the
America's Cup Yacht race.
On
July 26 ,
2007 , an explosion occurred during a cold flow test of a
Nitrous Oxide injector at a Scaled Composites test stand at
Mojave Spaceport in
Mojave, California , killing three and critically injuring three others.
4 All of those injured or killed worked for Scaled Composites. The nitrous oxide was under pressure, but at ambient temperature and the test had been safely conducted during the development of
SpaceShipOne and once before for
SpaceShipTwo .
Burt Rutan , who heads the company, had no immediate explanation for the explosion. He had spoken to
Sir Richard Branson of
Virgin Galactic , but no mention was made of what was discussed or if it will impact Virgin's plans to use Scaled Composites rockets for its space tourism program.
Northrop Grumman , who has recently agreed to increase their ownership stake in the company to 100% also had no comment.
567
According to the main Scaled Composites web site (27 July 2007) the three fatalities were Eric Blackwell, 38, Glen May, 45, and Todd Ivens, 33. On
July 27 2007 Cal/OSHA arrived, sealed the site and began their investigation. As of
31 July 2007 , the three who were injured remain hospitalized: Keith Fritsinger and Gene Gisin remain in critical condition but show improvement. Jason Kramb is no longer in serious condition and has shown good spirits.
On the 25 August, Rutan stated that the explosion has put the propulsion research on hold, but other areas of research, such as the
WK2 , continue.http://www.personalspaceflight.info/2007/08/25/rutan-no-explanation-yet-for-explosion/
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