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2015: A Space Odyssey - Not Just a Dream Burt Rutan CEO, Scaled Composites, LLC Profile An aerospace engineer, Mr. Rutan is president and CEO of Scaled Composites, LLC, which he founded in 1982. In 2001, he teamed up with Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Paul G. Allen to develop the first commercial manned space vehicle, SpaceShipOne. Mr. Rutan is also an accomplished pilot, and conducted 15 flight test programs for the U.S. Air Force in his role as a Flight Test Project Engineer at Edwards Air Force Base (1965-72). He received his B.S. in Aeronautical Engineering at California Polytechnic University, and advanced training at the Space Technology Institute at the California Institute of Technology and the Aerospace Research Pilot School at Edwards AFB. He holds honorary doctorates from California Polytechnic State University, Daniel Webster College, Lewis University and Delft University of Technology.
 
Scaled Composites, LLC
Scaled Composites, LLC is an aerospace and specialty composites development firm located in Mojave, California. It has been responsible for a number of groundbreaking aviation designs and projects, including the Voyager aircraft, the first airplane to fly around the world without refueling. Scaled Composites has helped design, develop, build and test prototype manned and unmanned aircraft for government agencies such as NASA and the U.S. Navy, as well as companies such as Beech Aircraft, McDonnell Douglas and Northrop Grumman. In Japan, the company worked with NASDA and Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd., and now has an ongoing program with Toyota.
—— How do you think the success of SpaceShipOne has influenced the existing space industry?

SpaceShipOne addressed a space industry that does not exist. And that is the future industry of commercial manned suborbital space flights. There was no industry before for commercial manned suborbital space flights, so this really was more like pioneering. We were starting a new capability, which has to be done with a very high level of safety in order for it to flourish. But I don't think it has any effect on the normal space industry, because this has not been done before. The only suborbital manned space flights were done in 1962 and 1963. So it's been something that has been ignored for 40 years.

* Suborbital space flight, 100 km above the Earth, leaves the atmosphere but isn't high enough to stay in continuous orbit.


—— What was the most difficult technical issue you had?

We did try new things that we didn't have to try. We felt these things were important because unless we tried them and made them succeed, we couldn't reach our safety goals for the future of the industry. Our process and design for what we call care-free reentry were critical to our eventual goal of having a safe system. As it turned out, that was not as difficult as many had feared. The development of the new hybrid rocket motor was probably the most difficult part of the program, because it was all-new also.


—— How have you solved the problems you had in the past with stability?

We have very good solutions for those, and the commercial ships will be much easier to fly, with a higher level of stability. It's basic flying-qualities design that you do for airplanes - the kinds of revisions you make to make an airplane fly better. These are being applied to SpaceShipTwo.

SpaceShipOne Manned space vehicle made by Scaled Composites. On June 21, 2004 it made the first privately funded human space flight, and on October 4, 2004 it won the $10-million Ansari X Prize. SpaceShipOne is released from the carrier ship White Knight at an altitude of about 15 km. SpaceShipOne with mother ship White Knight


 
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