Spaceship to zip people and cargo into orbit.

Microsoft co-founder & idea man Paul Allen and aerospace pioneer

Burt Rutan announced today they’re building a giant airplane and spaceship

to zip people and cargo into orbit. Watch at YouTube animation showing the proposed

Stratolaunch system.

 

But unlike traditional rockets and government spaceships, this new commercial spaceship will drop from a high-flying airplane instead of blasting off from a launch pad. “When I was growing up, America’s space program was the symbol of aspiration,” Allen said at a news conference. “For me, the fascination with space never ended. I never stopped dreaming what might be possible.”  Allen bemoaned the fact that government-sponsored spaceflight is waning and said his new project would “keep America at the forefront of space exploration” and give a new generation of children something to dream about. “We have plenty and many challenges ahead of us,” he said.

 

Allen and Rutan join a field crowded with Silicon Valley veterans who grew up on “Star Trek” and now want to fill a void created with the retirement of NASA’s space shuttle. Several companies are competing to develop spacecraft to deliver cargo and astronauts to the International Space Station. The duo won a prize in 2004 with a spaceship that went into space but not orbit. Their new business model likely includes tourism and satellites.

 

Their new plane will have a wingspan of 380 feet, longer than a football field. The plane will carry under its belly a space capsule with its own booster rocket, take off from a runway and go high into the air. Then the plane will release the spaceship, which will rocket to orbit. This method saves money by not using rocket fuel to get off the ground. Another older rocket company, Orbital Sciences Corp., uses this method for unmanned rockets to launch satellites.

 

But Allen’s rockets will eventually carry people. However, the first tests, scheduled for 2016, will be unmanned. It should be about five years before people can fly on the system that Allen and Rutan are calling Stratolaunch.

 

The spaceship and booster will be provided by another Internet tycoon, Elon Musk of PayPal, who has built a successful commercial rocket. Rutan will build the carrier aircraft, which will use six 747 engines. The company will bill its method of getting to space as “any orbit, any time,” officials said.

 

The company will be based in Huntsville, Ala. Allen left Microsoft in 1983. Since his time at the software giant he has pursued many varied interests and is the owner of the Seattle Seahawks football team as well as the Portland Trailblazers of the NBA.\

 

Fuel to the Fire: Rising Costs Could Leave SMBs in the Dark

It feels as if we hear about a gas crisis every summer and the today's rising fuel costs may just seem like business as usual. Perhaps so. But one can't deny that the rapid rise in fuel is a major inconvenience for SMBs in an economy which, while perhaps not as underwater as it used to be, remains quite unstable. “Certainty” is a word that has fallen out of the modern small business owner's vocabulary in the midst of the recession, and gas prices certainly aren't helping.

Small businesses are taking a hit. A recent survey by the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council found that 72% of the nation's businesses are indeed being impacted by today's rising fuel costs. “The fragile economy is being undermined by high gas prices,” said Karen Kerrigan, SBE Council President. “The weak recovery and policy uncertainties are already weighing on the confidence and minds of small business owners.” Uncertainty. That's the best way to describe today's business climate, isn't it?

 

How are SMBs bracing themselves in the midst of a potential gas crisis? According to an SBE survey, most businesses will have to halt hiring due to gas prices, meanwhile also raising the prices of their products and services in response to the bump in fuel costs. One in five businesses surveyed stated their intent to cut back on employee hours as a means to keep costs down. Perhaps the most damning statistic remains that 43% of surveyed business stated that their business simply will not survive the future if fuel prices continue to rise or remain the same.

And as small business owners are feeling the heat, so are consumers. Summer travel for both vacationers and businesses appear to be in peril, meaning especially dark days for the tourist, travel and leisure industries. According to the US Travel Association, 44% of Americans are taking fewer vacations this summer, while 37% will be traveling shorter distances. Gas prices have increased 19% in 2012 and are only 5% lower than the record high national average of $4.11 in the summer of 2008.

None of these figures or tales spell particularly good news for today's SMBs or their employees. Inevitably, we're ready to point our fingers at the cause, whatever it may be. Monetary policy. Foreign policy. Washington. The Middle East.  But the fact remains; finger pointing won't help us get out of the red. With that in mind, what's next?

A positive outlook can't hurt, and believe it or not, small business confidence has actually been on the rise for the month of March. In fact, roughly 75% of CEOs in a recent Vistage survey stated that they expect sales to see an upturn over the next year, meanwhile 60% are hoping for an increase in profitability.

Signs of economic recovery are always positives, yet rising gas prices represent the monkey on the back of most Americans, consumers and business owners alike. With that in mind, what steps can you take to save in your everyday life?

Some everyday tips to consider in the midst of a fuel crisis:

Avoid aggressive driving, sudden stops and hard breaking while driving to converse fuel

Make sure that your vehicles are taken care of, from the engine to the oil to the tires

Take shorter trips and routes whenever possible

There's a lot going on in the small business world today. The current fuel situation isn't pretty, but we unfortunately have to grin and bear it. Fortunately, there are steps you can take to help quell the crisis in your personal life. As signs of economic recovery have been coming slowly but surely, we can only hope that more good news will be on the way.

 

The Governor's Committee on Disability Issues and Employment  website

The Governor's Committee on Disability Issues and Employment provides statewide advocacy and leadership to empower the disability community to obtain equality of opportunity and maximum independence.

The vision of GCDE:

The Washington State Governor's Committee on Disability Issues and Employment (GCDE) is a nationally recognized leader in promoting equality, opportunity, independence, and full participation in life for persons with disabilities. The membership of the GCDE strives to promote the diversity of persons with disabilities by representing the widest possible range of constituent groups, geographical perspectives, ethnic origins and cultural heritage.

Created by the Executive Order in 1987 (Word, 30.0 KB), the GCDE:

Advises the governor, the legislature and state agencies on policy affecting persons with disabilities;

Monitors legislation to assure equal opportunity and access for employment, education, health care and public services;
Subcommittees and Projects - Find out about the work of each subcommittee and project.

Quick Access to Resources - GCDE resources for the disability community.

 

Orbital Sciences

Microsoft co-founder & idea man Paul Allen and aerospace pioneer Burt Rutan announced they’re building a giant airplane and spaceship to zip people and cargo into orbit. Watch animation showing the proposed Stratolaunch system.

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