Posted on 07/26/2007 5:06:30 PM PDT by SunTzuWu
MOJAVE, Calif. — Two people were killed and four others injured Thursday by an explosion at a Mojave Desert airport that is home to pioneering civilian rocket programs, authorities said. Wreckage of equipment and vehicles could be seen in an overhead view of the site broadcast by a KCAL-TV news helicopter. A sign on a truck behind a bunker had the name Scaled. Scaled Composites is the Mojave-based builder of SpaceShipOne, the first private manned rocket to reach space. "Reports are two fatalities and at least four critical injuries," said Kern County fire Capt. Doug Johnston, who was not at the scene. A call seeking comment from the airport manager was not immediately returned. It was not immediately clear what caused the blast, which happened around 2:45 p.m. in a remote section of the Mojave Air and Space Port, said Tony Diffenbaugh, an inspector with the Kern County Fire Department. Kern County fire crews and bomb experts were en route to the scene, where there was concern that airport personnel could be exposed to hazardous materials, said sheriff's Deputy Martinez.
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I wonder if this has anything to do with the Nasa computer saboteur for the space shuttle?
BUMP!
“pioneering civilian rocket programs”
I would doubt it.
bookmark
Is Scaled Composits Bert Rutan’s space effort? Sure hope not! He’s a great guy - a true pioneer.
Yes.
Bad news - Scaled Composits is Bert Rutans outfit. Prayers
for all concerned.
It’s his company, but he is supposed to be in Oshkosh, WI today for the EAA Airventure.
Amen! We heard what we thought was thunder. There isn’t any news about any more fatalities that I’m aware of. The boys are playing video games.
The man is an aeronautical genius who gets ZERO credit for his work. These are the kinds of people who need to be held up as role models and heros, not Hollywierd types like Lohan and sport people like Vick. If kids growing up, and even MANY adults, used people like Rutan as their role models, this country would not be so far behind in the sciences.
Burt gets credit from the people who know.
We had him down to give a talk at the main Northrop Grumman plant at El Segundo (near LAX). Wonderful talk, nice sense of humor.
I knew him when I was at Edwards AFB. I visited Scaled just last Tuesday. He has a great corporate culture.
Have you seen the young people he has in his company? It amazes me to see the smarts these young people have. I loved how Bert tested the Spaceship 1 on top of a pickup to perfect the rotating wing they were having some issue with. Amazing.
Aerospace designer Burt Rutan, who heads Scaled, was away at the time. He sounded distraught in a phone call with The Associated Press as he was en route to the scene. "We've lost a couple of our employees. It's a very big deal," Rutan said.
I don’t know what Northrop Grumman is going to do to the culture you admire. Best hopes, but hard to predict whether NGC will strike a balance between being sufficiently supportive and sufficiently hands off.
I figure that NorthopGrumman bought them mostly because of the culture. NGC has been a part owner for years, and often increases their share in held companies as necessary to provide funds for tooling, hiring, and research. That makes their share worth a lot more.
NGC also has a fair number of resources (former TRW rocketeers, even retired Grumman Lunar Lander folks, that they can call in as consultants.
I had a meeting with one young man just last Tuesday. Yes, very sharp indeed.
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