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space_ship.jpgPaul Allen, co-founder of Microsoft, has always been even more interesting to me than Bill Gates. After all, Allen cashed out to become a philanthropist and VC. And now he has funded the first privately funded space rocket. That set him back $20 million.
SpaceShipOne, flown by 62 year-old private citizen Michael W. Melvill, was designed by aviation pioneer Burt Rutan, who called the flight “perfect.”
“It was amazing,” Rutan said. “It looked like what it did in my mind in 1999.” Melvill said at a news conference, “The colors were pretty staggering … Looking at the Earth from up there is almost a religious experience.”
A fantastic product placement too
And talk about a product placement! Melvill opened a package of M&Ms during the weightless phase so he could watch them float around the cabin. I can hardly wait for the commercial!
The project was intended to demonstrate the viability of commercial space flight and open the door for space tourism, according to Reuters
Beam me up Scottie.