Stratolaunch Systems
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| Private | |
| Industry | Aerospace |
| Founded | 2011 |
| Headquarters | Seattle, Washington |
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Key people
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Paul Allen |
| Parent | Vulcan Inc. |
| Website | stratolaunchsystems.com |
Stratolaunch Systems, a subsidiary of Vulcan Aerospace, is a space transportation venture developing a new air launch to orbit system, with its corporate headquarters located in Seattle, Washington. The project was begun in 2010 and officially announced in December 2011 by Microsoft co-founder Paul G. Allen and Scaled Composites founder Burt Rutan, who had previously collaborated on the creation of SpaceShipOne.
In 2015 Stratolaunch Systems was placed under the supervision of Paul Allen's new company Vulcan Aerospace, a subsidiary of Vulcan, Inc.
The project is a mobile launch system with three primary components; a carrier aircraft being built by Scaled Composites, a multi-stage payload "launch vehicle" which would be launched at high altitude into space from under the carrier aircraft, plus a mating and integration system by Dynetics.
The first test flights will begin in 2017, with a goal of a commercial launch by 2020.
The project was started almost a year before the public announcement was made. Development costs were initially projected to be US $300 million in 2011. Dynetics actually began work in early 2010 and had approximately 40 employees working on the project as of December 2011[update]. Dynetics was cited as "responsible for the total systems engineering, integration and testing, which includes aerodynamics, loads, and interfaces." It was announced the SpaceX corporation was also already working on the design for the rocket-powered space vehicle components of the system.
The collaboration with SpaceX had ended by 2012. In a 2015 interview, former president Chuck Beames (2014-2016) explained, "SpaceX was a partner, and like a lot of partnerships, it was just determined that it was best we went our separate ways – different ambitions. We were interested in their engines, but Elon and his team, they’re about going to Mars, and we’re just in a different place, and so I think it was a parting of the ways that was amicable."
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