World's Biggest Aircraft Will Ferry Passengers to Space in Stratolaunch Vision

to private spaceflight --thanks to the world's biggest aircraft.

The business magnate is teaming up with Burt Rutan, the aerospace engineer that developed the original SpaceShipOne -- the first privately funded, manned rocket ship to fly beyond Earth’s atmosphere. Looking to build on that success, Stratolaunch Systems promises to bring greater safety, cost-effectiveness, and flexibility to space travel.

"For the first time since John Glenn, America can not fly its own astronauts into space," Allen said, noting the recent final flight by the space shuttle and the elimination of the Constellation program, which would have built a successor craft. "By the end of this decade, Stratolaunch will be putting spacecraft into orbit."

"We will keep America at the forefront of space exploration," he said.

The new space system will be focused on carrying commercial and government cargo into space, but Rutan and Allen hope it will eventually carry human cargo as well. The company's motto: Any orbit, any time.

"I have long dreamed about taking the next big step in private space flight after the success of SpaceShipOne -- to offer a flexible, orbital space delivery system," Allen said. "We are at the dawn of radical change in the space launch industry. Stratolaunch Systems is pioneering an innovative solution that will revolutionize space travel.

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