Burt Rutan Returns for Another Shot at Space Travel
The Stratolaunch mother ship would be powered by six engines, similar in size to that of a Boeing 747, and have an mtow of some 1.2 million pounds, similar to that of an Airbus A380. First flight is anticipated in 2016.
The Stratolaunch mother ship would be powered by six engines, similar in size to that of a Boeing 747, and have an mtow of some 1.2 million pounds, similar to that of an Airbus A380. First flight is anticipated in 2016.

The science-fiction pundits were wrong. The future of space travel doesn’t look like a Buck Rogers-style rocket poised to roar straight up into the twinkling heavens from a tinkerer’s backyard. What space travel will look like, according to a company called Stratolaunch Systems−which includes board member and backyard tinkerer Burt Rutan−is kind of unsurprising, more airplane-like, although no less fantastical.