Space firm founded by billionaire Paul Allen closing operations - sources
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https://www.reuters.com/article/us-space-exploration-stratolaunch-exclus/exclusive-space-firm-founded-by-billionaire-paul-allen-closing-operations-sources-idUSKCN1T12FD?fbclid=IwAR0rUmAklw5XR73oXKIDGKkOdgYC-z_xhxwXzDjQNjcCwigtHE2vul_C-gk
Paul Allen was a dreamer and dreamed of becoming an astronaut. His sister is a realist and want to buy yachts.
I thought he got Axed by Patrick Bateman? Weird.
now how will he get that reservation at Dorsia?
I mean stratolaunch’s strategy has also just looked very shaky, especially with reuseability making things so much cheaper. Launching small sats from a slightly higher altitude (but also design around the stresses and constraints associated with that) probably just isn’t really worth t.
Sadly, it's been obvious for a while that they were in trouble. They never had a good plan for the actual rocket part of an air-launched rocket - SpaceX pulled out to focus on the Falcon 9, Orbital ATK got fired because they're a bunch of incompetent fuckups, and their internal Black Ice project was clearly well beyond their reach. With no rocket, the plane has no payload, and with no payload, it has no reason to exist or operate.
There are enough small newspace startups that maybe one of them will buy it up, pair it with an Electron or other small rocket to boost their capacity. It seems a shame to retire it after one flight, though at least it got that. Or maybe it could find use as a massive cargo carrier, compete with the old An-225.
I always felt iffy about these plane launched rockets but it's sad to see such a magnificent plane fall out or use. Maybe they can drop giant water balloons from it to fight wildfires.
Yeah I doubt a technological marvel like that will be decommissioned, and if it does, I doubt it'll stay there long. It's a beautiful piece of engineering porn, another case of something that really shouldn't be able to fly, much less handle the stresses of what it does.
ya I'm sure someone will find a use for it, this thing would make a hell of a good X-plane carrier if nothing else, much better than a b52
Spruce Goose.
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