Allen/Rutan X Prize Launch

[kallahar]

From the first flight: http://quickwired.com/kallahar/stori...aceshipone.php

[allentrace]

Don't forget the Virgin Global Flyer, a plane Rutan designed to make the first solo nonstop circumnavigation of the world.

I had the opportunity to meet Rutan when he gave my Civil Air Patrol squadron a tour of his ranch in Carbondale, CO. He's an awesome guy with lots of cool shit, and already has all sorts of crazy ideas of where to go with the SS1 project next. On the Black Sky Discovery Channel special documenting SS1, he showed plans of a White Knight/SS1-like design that carries 7 people... and the design of a small space station where these space planes could temporarily dock and allow a 3 hour vacation in space...

I have not had the pleasure of meeting him, though I have met Dean Kamen, (creator of the Segway and many other inventions) and he seems like the same kind of guy.

[bascule]

Don't forget the Virgin Global Flyer, a plane Rutan designed to make the first solo nonstop circumnavigation of the world.

I had the opportunity to meet Rutan when he gave my Civil Air Patrol squadron a tour of his ranch in Carbondale, CO. He's an awesome guy with lots of cool shit, and already has all sorts of crazy ideas of where to go with the SS1 project next. On the Black Sky Discovery Channel special documenting SS1, he showed plans of a White Knight/SS1-like design that carries 7 people... and the design of a small space station where these space planes could temporarily dock and allow a 3 hour vacation in space...

[allentrace]

Virgin Mobile and the giant that is Richard Branson

Both flights were successful though the wife had to sub for her husband on the second flight. They won the Ten Million, which incidentally is just enough to pay for their full they burned. As for Virgin dead god their CEO is involved in a lot of tech and science research. Besides being Knighted, Richard Branson owns a lot:
Virgin Wines
Radio Free Virgin
Virgin Atlantic Airways
Virgin Trains
Virgin Blue (Australian budget airline)
Virgin Mobile (Virtual Cell Phone network)
Virgin Megastores
Virgin Publishing
Virgin Pulse (Personal Electronics)
Virgin Finance
Virgin Drinks
virgin.net (an internet service provider)
V2 Records
Virgin America (U.S. airline, scheduled for launch in 2005)
Virgin Galactic (a venture with SpaceShipOne to market commercial space flights)

Past Virgin Group ventures include:

Virgin Cinema, sold to UGC Cinema
Virgin Radio, now owned by SMG.
Virgin Records, now owned by EMI
Virgin Interactive, now owned by Titus Interactive

All of these subsidiaries are heavily involved in tech futures and the like. But I digress, Once I realized this project was being funded by Branson it peeked my interest.

[alklloyd]

I know *exactly* what you mean... The future is truly out THERE!

Quite right. One down, one to go. The pilot called that spin a "victory loop" or
something like that...talk about cast iron cayhones...

Al

[ndex]

Shit like this gives me a Boner.

I know *exactly* what you mean... The future is truly out THERE!

[astcell]

Shit like this gives me a Boner.

Then you better buy the hat. ...Since you have the place to hang it. ;)

[FAWCR]

While this is awesome I saw on the news tonight that one of the sponsors (Virgin) had a trial run that ended in a spin out and would have been a puke ride if there had been any passengers.

After all, they are expecting to only charge $200K for each passenger...something that isn't in my pocket book....

[Grifter]

Shit like this gives me a Boner.

[alklloyd]

http://www.xprize.org/
If you're religious, say Godspeed. If you're not, say Go baby Go!
Al K. Lloyd