Scaled Composites

Last updated

Scaled Composites, LLC
Company type Division
Industry Aerospace industry
Founded1982
Founder Burt Rutan
Headquarters Mojave, California
Key people
Greg Morris, President
Jennifer Santiago, Executive Vice President
Kevin Mickey, President Emeritus
ProductsAir vehicle design, tooling, and manufacturing, specialty composite structure design, analysis and fabrication, and developmental flight test
Number of employees
Over 200
Parent Northrop Grumman
Website www.scaled.com OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg

Scaled Composites (often called simply Scaled) is an American aerospace company founded by Burt Rutan and currently owned by Northrop Grumman. It is located at the Mojave Air and Space Port in Mojave, California, United States. Founded to develop experimental aircraft, the company now focuses on designing and developing concept craft and prototype fabrication processes for aircraft and other vehicles. It is known for unconventional designs, for its use of non-metal, composite materials, and for winning the Ansari X Prize with its experimental spacecraft SpaceShipOne.

Contents

Company history

Scaled Composites was established in 1982 and purchased by the Beech Aircraft Corporation in 1985, as a result of the collaboration on the Starship project. In 1988, Beech's parent company, Raytheon, sold Scaled back to Rutan, who then sold it to Wyman-Gordon. After Wyman-Gordon was acquired by Precision Castparts Corp., Rutan and ten investors re-acquired the company as Scaled Composites, LLC. Northrop Grumman, a major shareholder in the company with a 40% stake, said it would acquire the company outright on July 20, 2007. [1] Both companies said Northrop Grumman's acquisition would not affect Scaled Composites' strategy or involve replacing Burt Rutan as senior manager. [2] The acquisition by Northrop Grumman was completed on August 24, 2007. [3] Rutan retired in April 2011. [4] Ben Diachun, a long time employee, was president of Scaled from Oct 31, 2015, [5] until April 2019. [6] [7] Cory Bird, another long-time employee, became president of Scaled in April 2019. [8]

Early projects

Before forming Scaled Composites, Burt Rutan had designed several aircraft for amateur builders, including the VariEze, often considered one of general aviation's most innovative designs. [9] [10]

He also designed the Beechcraft Starship, which was a commercial failure. These aircraft were distinctive because of their canard configuration, winglets and pusher propellers.

In 2005, the single-jet Global Flyer [ relevant? ] was flown by billionaire adventurer Steve Fossett on the first solo non-stop, non-refueled flight around the world, and later in the longest flight in history: 41,467.53 km (25,766.73 mi).

Although their role was not widely publicized, Rutan and John Roncz, who had provided aerodynamics support to a number of previous Rutan projects including Starship, helped design, and Scaled Composites manufactured, the double slotted wing mast for the Stars & Stripes catamaran for Dennis Conner's entry in the 1988 America's Cup. [11]

SpaceShipOne

The White Knight carries SpaceShipOne on Flight 16P September 29, 2004. Flight 16P taxi pre-launch photo Don Ramey Logan.jpg
The White Knight carries SpaceShipOne on Flight 16P September 29, 2004.
(L to R) Marion Blakely, FAA - Chief. Commercial Astronaut- Michael Winston "Mike" Melvill - Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson - Elbert Leander "Burt" Rutan - William Brian Binnie & Paul Gardner Allen reflect on a mission accomplished (October 4, 2004) SS1Group01.jpg
(L to R) Marion Blakely, FAA - Chief. Commercial Astronaut- Michael Winston "Mike" Melvill - Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson - Elbert Leander "Burt" Rutan - William Brian Binnie & Paul Gardner Allen reflect on a mission accomplished (October 4, 2004)

The company announced in April 2003 that it was working on a privately funded spacecraft, in an attempt to win the Ansari X PRIZE for the first private crewed spaceflight. This experimental rocket-powered spacecraft was given the name SpaceShipOne. On December 17, 2003, they announced SpaceShipOne's first supersonic flight, the first flight of its kind by a privately funded aircraft. SpaceShipOne successfully made this flight, reaching 68,000 feet (21,000 m) and 930 mph (Mach 1.2). The craft was taken aloft by the White Knight carrier aircraft. On the same day, Paul Allen, one of the founders of Microsoft, confirmed publicly the rumors that he was the angel investor behind the SpaceShipOne venture.

On April 1, 2004, the U.S. Department of Transportation issued the company what it called the world's first license for a sub-orbital crewed rocket flight. [12] The license was approved by the Federal Aviation Administration's Office of Commercial Space Transportation, which has backed licenses for more than 150 commercial launches of uncrewed launch vehicles in its 20 years, but never a license for crewed flight on a sub-orbital trajectory. The Mojave Airport, operating part-time as Mojave Spaceport, is the launch point for SpaceShipOne. SpaceShipOne performed the first privately funded human spaceflight on June 21, 2004. Flight 16P on September 29, 2004, and Flight 17P on October 4, 2004, won the X-Prize for Scaled Composites and SpaceShipOne.

Stratolaunch Carrier Aircraft

Scaled Composites Model 351 (nicknamed the "Roc") was built for Stratolaunch Systems to provide a platform from which air-launch space missions can be staged. [13]

In August 2015, Scaled Composites president Kevin Mickey stated the company has so far assembled "roughly 200,000 pounds of composite structure" for the vehicle and if put on a football field, "its wingtips would extend beyond the goalposts by 15 feet on each side." [14]

Each of the twin fuselages of the aircraft is 238 feet (73 m) long and will be supported by 12 main landing gear wheels and two nose gear wheels. It will require 12,000 feet of runway to lift-off. [15]

Rutan Aircraft Factory aircraft

Rutan Aircraft's first - Model 32 VariViggen (1972) Variviggen.jpg
Rutan Aircraft's first – Model 32 VariViggen (1972)
Rutan Model 61 Long-EZ NOAA-Long-EZ.jpg
Rutan Model 61 Long-EZ

Burt Rutan created Rutan Aircraft Factory to market a commercial variation of his Model "VariViggen" prototype" he began building in his garage in 1968 which he called The Model 32, also known as the VariViggen SP. This model utilized a slightly longer fuselage, larger span and winglets in order to increase efficiency. Within 8 years after its founding, this company became one of the world's important aircraft design and prototyping companies. [16] The Rutan Aircraft Factory sold over 600 plan sets for the VariViggen to homebuilders, and eventually about 20 of the aircraft were built. Following the crash of one in New Brunswick, Canada, in September 2006 due to wing tank fuel contamination, [17] fewer than five are currently still flying. The prototype aircraft, N27VV, was donated to the EAA AirVenture Museum in 1988.

Scaled Composites aircraft

ModelNameFirst
flight		Description
115 Beechcraft Starship 198285% scale prototype, twin-turboprop, canard business aircraft
B-2 Spirit Scale model for radar cross-section tests of the stealth bomber [ citation needed ]
133 ATTT 1986 STOL, tandem-wing transport demonstrator
143 Triumph 1988 Three-surface, twin-engine very light jet prototype for Beechcraft
IAI Searcher 1992larger AAI RQ-2 Pioneer reconnaissance UAV [ citation needed ]
Model TRA324 Scarab 1992Reconnaissance UAV for Teledyne Ryan (Northrop Grumman since 1999)
DC-X 1993structural aeroshell and control surfaces for McDonnell Douglas
151 ARES 1990single-jet Close Air Support demonstrator
Pegasus rocket 1990Wings and fins for Orbital ATK
158 Pond Racer 1990 twin-boom air racer
Bell Eagle Eye 1998UAV tiltrotor demonstrator for Bell Helicopter
205/206 1991 designs for airlaunch of a booster rocket heavier than 500,000 lb (230 t) [18]
Orion Industries UAV Model 706 Sea Bat1995UAV prototype for the US Navy [19]
247 Vantage 1996prototype single-engine very light jet for VisionAire
271 V-Jet II 1997single jet demonstrator for Williams International
276 NASA X-38 1998fuselage of experimental emergency re-entry vehicle for the ISS
281 Proteus 1998 High-Altitude Long Endurance twinjet with tandem wings
Roton ATV 1999Fuselage for the Rotary Rocket concept of a reusable SSTO manned spacecraft
287 NASA ERAST Program proof of concept model for 85,000 ft (26,000 m) UAV [ citation needed ]
309 M-309 CarbonAero 2000Piston push-pull six-seater prototype for the Adam A500
326 X-47A Pegasus 2001Northrop Grumman Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle demonstrator
302 Toyota TA-1 2002prototype general aviation four-seater for Toyota
316 SpaceShipOne 2003experimental sub-orbital ship for air launch, within Tier One
318 White Knight 2003twinjet mother ship for SpaceShipOne derived from Proteus
311 Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer 2004Solo Jet aircraft for nonstop circumnavigation
339 SpaceShipTwo 2008 Virgin Galactic's air-launched Sub-orbital ship for space tourism
348 White Knight Two 2008quadjet mother ship lifting the SpaceShipTwo to altitude
351 Stratolaunch 2019built for Stratolaunch Systems to carry air launch to orbit rockets, largest aircraft by wingspan
367 BiPod 2011experimental hybrid electric flying car
395 Proteus developmentProposed unmanned and armed version for the USAF Hunter-Killer program
396 RQ-4 Global Hawk variant Smaller, armed version of the RQ-4 Global Hawk for the USAF Hunter-Killer program
400 Swift 2016jet trainer contender for the T-X program
401 Deimos & Phobos 2017manned and unmanned Close Air Support demonstrators
A rendering of the US Air Force blended wing body aircraft project; 4-year contract awarded to JetZero in August 2023, will be built in collaboration with Northrop Grumman subsidiary Scaled Composites JetZero blended wing body aircraft prototype concept art.jpg
A rendering of the US Air Force blended wing body aircraft project; 4-year contract awarded to JetZero in August 2023, will be built in collaboration with Northrop Grumman subsidiary Scaled Composites

Other aircraft projects

Non-aircraft work

Accidents and incidents

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SpaceShipOne</span> American experimental spaceplane

SpaceShipOne is an experimental air-launched rocket-powered aircraft with sub-orbital spaceflight capability at speeds of up to 3,000 ft/s (2,000 mph) / 910 m/s (3,300 km/h) using a hybrid rocket motor. The design features a unique "feathering" atmospheric reentry system where the rear half of the wing and the twin tail booms folds 70 degrees upward along a hinge running the length of the wing; this increases drag while retaining stability. SpaceShipOne completed the first crewed private spaceflight in 2004. That same year, it won the US$10 million Ansari X Prize and was immediately retired from active service. Its mother ship was named "White Knight". Both craft were developed and flown by Mojave Aerospace Ventures, which was a joint venture between Paul Allen and Scaled Composites, Burt Rutan's aviation company. Allen provided the funding of approximately US$25 million.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Burt Rutan</span> American aerospace engineer

Elbert Leander "Burt" Rutan is a retired American aerospace engineer and entrepreneur noted for his originality in designing light, strong, unusual-looking, and energy-efficient air and space craft. He designed the record-breaking Voyager, which in 1986 was the first plane to fly around the world without stopping or refueling. He also designed the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer, which in 2006 set the world record for the fastest and longest nonstop non-refueled circumnavigation flight in history. In 2004, Rutan's sub-orbital spaceplane design SpaceShipOne became the first privately funded spacecraft to enter the realm of space, winning the Ansari X-Prize that year for achieving the feat twice within a two-week period.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scaled Composites White Knight</span> SpaceShipOne mother ship

The Scaled Composites Model 318 White Knight is a jet-powered carrier aircraft that was used to launch its companion SpaceShipOne, an experimental spaceplane. The White Knight and SpaceShipOne were designed by Burt Rutan and manufactured by Scaled Composites, a private company founded by Rutan in 1982. On three separate flights in 2004, White Knight conducted SpaceShipOne into flight, and SpaceShipOne then performed a sub-orbital spaceflight, becoming the first private craft to reach space.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northrop Grumman X-47A Pegasus</span> Type of aircraft

The Northrop Grumman X-47 is a demonstration unmanned combat aerial vehicle. The X-47 began as part of DARPA's J-UCAS program, and is now part of the United States Navy's UCAS-D program to create a carrier-based unmanned aircraft. Unlike the Boeing X-45, initial Pegasus development was company-funded. The original vehicle carries the designation X-47A Pegasus, while the follow-on naval version is designated X-47B.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike Melvill</span> American test pilot and astronaut (born 1940)

Michael Winston Melvill is a world-record-breaking pilot and one of the test pilots for SpaceShipOne, the experimental spaceplane developed by Scaled Composites. Melvill piloted SpaceShipOne on its first flight past the edge of space, flight 15P on June 21, 2004, thus becoming the first commercial astronaut, and the 435th person to go into space. He was also the pilot on SpaceShipOne's flight 16P, the first competitive flight in the Ansari X Prize competition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mojave Air and Space Port</span> Facility located in Mojave, California

The Mojave Air and Space Port at Rutan Field is in Mojave, California, United States, at an elevation of 2,801 feet (854 m). It is the first facility to be licensed in the United States for horizontal launches of reusable spacecraft, being certified as a spaceport by the Federal Aviation Administration on June 17, 2004. The facility covers 2,998 acres and has three runways.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scaled Composites Tier One</span> Suborbital human spaceflight program using the reusable spacecraft SpaceShipOne

Tier One was a Scaled Composites' 1990s–2004 program of suborbital human spaceflight using the reusable spacecraft SpaceShipOne and its launcher White Knight. The craft was designed by Burt Rutan, and the project was funded 20 million US Dollars by Paul Allen. In 2004 it made the first privately funded human spaceflight and won the 10 million US Dollars Ansari X Prize for the first non-governmental reusable crewed spacecraft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rutan VariEze</span> Homebuilt aircraft designed by Burt Rutan

The Rutan VariEze is a composite, canard aircraft designed by Burt Rutan. It is a high-performance homebuilt aircraft, hundreds of which have been constructed. The design later evolved into the Long-EZ and other, larger cabin canard aircraft. The VariEze is notable for popularizing the canard configuration and moldless glass cloth composite construction for homebuilt aircraft.

Mojave Aerospace Ventures (MAV) is a company founded by Paul Allen and Burt Rutan to handle the commercial spinoffs from the Tier One project. It owns the intellectual property arising from Tier One, and it is in turn owned by Allen and Rutan's Scaled Composites. In 2004, it signed a deal with Virgin Galactic to develop the Virgin SpaceShip, a suborbital spacecraft, for space tourism. Virgin Group and Scaled Composites have subsequently formed a joint venture, The Spaceship Company, to manufacture the spacecraft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scaled Composites Proteus</span> Experimental aircraft

The Scaled Composites Model 281 Proteus is a tandem-wing high-altitude long-endurance aircraft designed by Burt Rutan to investigate the use of aircraft as high-altitude telecommunications relays. The Proteus is a multi-mission vehicle able to carry various payloads on a ventral pylon. The Proteus has an extremely efficient design and can orbit a point at over 19,800 m for more than 18 hours. It is currently owned by Northrop Grumman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scaled Composites White Knight Two</span> SpaceShipTwo mother ship

The Scaled Composites Model 348 White Knight Two (WK2) is a quadjet cargo aircraft that is used to lift the SpaceShipTwo spacecraft to release altitude. It was developed by Scaled Composites from 2007 to 2010 as the first stage of Tier 1b, a two-stage to suborbital-space crewed launch system. WK2 is based on the successful mothership to SpaceShipOne, White Knight, which itself is based on Proteus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Spaceship Company</span> Spacecraft manufacturing company

The Spaceship Company (TSC) is a British/American spacecraft manufacturing company that was founded by Burt Rutan and Richard Branson in mid-2005 and was jointly owned by Virgin Group (70%) and Scaled Composites (30%) until 2012 when Virgin Galactic became the sole owner. TSC was formed to own the technology created by Scaled for Virgin Galactic's Virgin SpaceShip program. This includes developments on the care-free reentry system and cantilevered-hybrid rocket motor, licensed from Paul Allen and Burt Rutan's Mojave Aerospace. The company is manufacturing Virgin Galactic's spacecraft and will sell spacecraft to other buyers. The suborbital launch system offered will include the SpaceShipTwo spacecraft and the White Knight Two carrier aircraft.

SpaceShip III is an upcoming class of spaceplanes by Virgin Galactic to follow SpaceShipTwo. It was first teased on the Virgin Galactic Twitter account on 25 February 2021 announcing the rollout of the first SpaceShip III plane on 30 March 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rutan VariViggen</span> Homebuilt aircraft designed by Burt Rutan

The Rutan VariViggen is a homebuilt aircraft designed by Burt Rutan. The aircraft is a tandem two-seater of primarily wooden construction with a delta wing and a canard foreplane. The VariViggen is powered by a 150 hp Lycoming O-320 aero engine in pusher configuration. The prototype was designated Model 27, and the production version was Model 32.

The Scaled Composites Model 133-4.62 ATTT, or Advanced Technology Tactical Transport was a technology demonstration project built by Burt Rutan's Scaled Composites in 1986 under contract to DARPA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scaled Composites Triumph</span> Type of aircraft

The Scaled Composites Triumph is a twin-engine, business jet prototype designed and built by Burt Rutan's Scaled Composites for Beechcraft. It was known officially as the Model 143, and internally at Scaled as the "Tuna". The aircraft is a three lifting surface design, with both a small canard, and a small conventional horizontal stabilizer in a T-tail configuration.

<i>Stargazer</i> (aircraft) Aircraft

Stargazer is a Lockheed L-1011 TriStar built in 1974, that was modified in 1994 for use by Orbital Sciences as a mother ship launch pad for the Pegasus launch vehicle. As of October 2022, 45 rockets have been launched from it, using the Pegasus-H and Pegasus-XL configurations. As of 2019, Stargazer is the only L-1011 airframe still airworthy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northrop Grumman Firebird</span> Intelligence gathering aircraft

The Northrop Grumman Firebird is an intelligence gathering aircraft designed by Northrop Grumman's subsidiary Scaled Composites which can be flown remotely or by a pilot. At Scaled, it is known as the Model 355. It was unveiled on May 9, 2011. It was first flown in February 2010 and is considered to be an optionally piloted vehicle (OPV).

Pegasus II, also known as Thunderbolt, was an air-launched orbital rocket under development in 2012–2015 by Orbital Sciences Corporation for use by Stratolaunch Systems.

References

  1. ↑ AIN staff. "Northrop Grumman Seals Scaled Composites Deal". Aviation International News. Retrieved August 18, 2020.
  2. ↑ "MP-RTIP: Rutan To Get First Crack At Flight Test". UVOnline.com. Shephard Group. Archived from the original on September 28, 2007. Retrieved December 7, 2006.
  3. ↑ "Northrop Grumman Completes Acquisition of Scaled Composites, LLC". Archived from the original on July 7, 2012. Retrieved August 25, 2007.
  4. ↑ "Burt Rutan Announces Retirement Plans" (PDF). Retrieved July 10, 2011.
  5. ↑ Drew, James (October 23, 2015). "Scaled president appointed VP of advanced design at Northrop". FlightGlobal.com. Retrieved May 5, 2019. Long-time Scaled vice-president of engineering, Ben Diachun, has been named to fill the vacancy of president effective 31 October
  6. ↑ "Urban Air Mobility Startup Opener Hires Key Execs for Future Blackfly eVTOL". CleanTechnica . April 11, 2019. Retrieved May 5, 2019. Ben Diachun is an industry veteran and innovator who is also now Opener's President. Diachun comes from Scaled Composites and worked with the late Paul Allen on designing and flying the experimental air-launched rocket-powered aircraft SpaceShipOne.
  7. ↑ "OPENER Names Ben Diachun President". GlobeNewswire News Room (Press release). April 2, 2019. Retrieved May 5, 2019. As OPENER's President, my goal is to take what has been accomplished by this amazing team to the next level, and successfully bring a safe and affordable flying vehicle to market.
  8. ↑ "Scaled Composites Announces Cory Bird as President". spaceref.com. April 8, 2019. Retrieved May 5, 2019. Monday, April 8, 2019. Scaled Composites has announced Cory Bird as the company's new president.
  9. ↑ Pattillo, Donald M. (2020). The General Aviation Industry in America: A History, 2d ed. Jefferson, NC: McFarland. p. 141. ISBN   978-1-4766-7721-7.
  10. ↑ van der Linden, F. Robert (2011). The Nation's Hangar: Aircraft Treasures of the Smithsonian. Smithsonian Institution. p. 173. ISBN   978-1-58834-316-1.
  11. ↑ America's Cup 1988
  12. ↑ "SpaceShipOne gets federal go-ahead". NBC News. April 7, 2004. Retrieved December 9, 2009.
  13. ↑ "Stratolaunch and Orbital – The Height of Air Launch". Space flight. NASA. May 24, 2013. Retrieved August 10, 2015.
  14. ↑ Moon, Mariella (August 4, 2016). "Largest plane in the world to perform test flights in 2016". Engadget. AOL. Retrieved August 10, 2015.
  15. ↑ "SEE IT: World's largest plane under construction in Calif". NY Daily News. February 26, 2015. Retrieved August 10, 2015.
  16. ↑ Fisk, Peter (2011). Creative Genius: An Innovation Guide for Business Leaders, Border Crossers and Game Changers. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. ISBN   978-0-85708-023-3.
  17. ↑ "Aviation Investigation Report". Canada: Transportation Safety Board. 2006. A06A0092.
  18. ↑ Belfiore, Michael (January 23, 2012). "Burt Rutan on Designing the World's Largest Aircraft". Popular Mechanics. Retrieved January 20, 2012. In 1991, to address a requirement to launch a booster heavier than 500,000 pounds, [Rutan] did the Model 205 and 206 preliminary designs.
  19. ↑ "Orion Industries UAV Model 706 Sea Bat Western Museum of Flight". WMOF.com. Retrieved August 15, 2021.
  20. ↑ "Air Force picks startup JetZero to build blended wing body demonstrator". August 16, 2023.
  21. ↑ "Fatal explosion at Mojave Airport".
  22. ↑ Mojave Air and Space Port press conference on Friday 31 October 2014 at 2:00pm PDT -- involving: the Spaceport, Scaled, Virgin Galactic, County Fire Department, Sheriff's Department
  23. ↑ "Statement from Virgin Galactic 31.10.14". VirginGalactic.com. October 31, 2014. Archived from the original on November 14, 2014. Retrieved November 12, 2014.
  24. ↑ "The Space Review: A Failure of Foresight and Oversight" . Retrieved August 10, 2015.

35°03′23″N118°09′40″W / 35.0564°N 118.1610°W / 35.0564; -118.1610

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