Paul Allen, Burt Rutan, and SpaceX team up for new space venture, Stratolaunch
By Xeni Jardin at 9:04 pm Tuesday, Dec 13 
Billionaire Microsoft founder Paul Allen has teamed up with spaceflight pioneer Burt Rutan and Elon Musk's SpaceX to develop Stratolaunch, new launch system with “a gross weight of more than 1.2 million pounds and a wingspan greater than the length of a football field, making it the largest air launch system ever developed”.
It will be the largest aircraft, by wingspan, to ever fly, and will do so with a rocket strapped to its belly. It will carry satellites, cargo, and tourists. Allen is committing some $200 million of his wealth to the venture.
Lots of news coverage today: AP, MSNBC.com, LA Times, Wall Street Journal.
(Thanks, Noggin)
Where not otherwise specified, this work is licensed under a Creative Commons License permitting non-commercial sharing with attribution. Boing Boing is a trademark of Happy Mutants LLC in the United States and other countries.