Space firm founded by billionaire Paul Allen closing operations

SEATTLE/ORLANDO, Fla. (Reuters) – Stratolaunch Systems Corporation, the space company founded by late billionaire and Microsoft Corp co-founder Paul Allen, is closing operations, cutting short ambitious plans to challenge traditional aerospace companies in a new “space race,” four people familiar with the matter said on Friday. The company, a unit of Allen’s privately held investment vehicle Vulcan Inc, had been developing a portfolio of launch vehicles including the world’s largest airplane by wingspan to launch satellites and eventually humans into space. tinyurl.com/y6qp8bch

In January, three months after Allen’s death, Stratolaunch said it was scrapping the rocket-building portion of the company but would continue to focus on its carrier plane.

Source: www.reuters.com