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Scaled Composites
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. 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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Division (business)
A division, sometimes called a business sector or business unit (segment), is one of the parts into which a business, organization or company is divided. Overview Divisions are distinct parts of a business. If these divisions are all part of the same company, then that company is legally responsible for all of the obligations and debts of the divisions. In the banking industry, an example would be East West Bancorp and its primary subsidiary, East West Bank. Legal responsibility Subsidiaries are separate, distinct Commercial law, legal entities for the purposes of taxation, regulation and Legal liability, liability. For this reason, they differ from divisions, which are businesses fully integrated within the main company, and not legally or otherwise distinct from it. The ''Houston Chronicle'' highlighted that the creation of a division "is substantially easier than developing subsidiaries. Because a division is an internal segment of a company, not an entirely separate enti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Canard (aeronautics)
In aeronautics, a canard is a wing configuration in which a small forewing or foreplane is placed forward of the main wing of a fixed-wing aircraft or a weapon. The term "canard" may be used to describe the aircraft itself, the wing configuration, or the foreplane.Clancy, L. J. (1975). ''Aerodynamics'', Pitman (UK), Halsted (US), 1975. Pages 292-3.. Canard wings are also extensively used in guided missiles and smart bombs. The term "canard" arose from the appearance of the Santos-Dumont 14-bis of 1906, which was said to be reminiscent of a duck (''canard'' in French) with its neck stretched out in flight. Despite the use of a canard surface on the first powered aeroplane, the Wright Flyer of 1903, canard designs were not built in quantity until the appearance of the Saab Viggen jet fighter in 1967. The aerodynamics of the canard configuration are complex and require careful analysis. Rather than use the conventional tailplane configuration found on most aircraft, an a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scaled Composites SpaceShipOne
SpaceShipOne is an experimental air-launched rocket-powered aircraft with sub-orbital spaceflight capability at speeds of up to / 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. Rutan has indicated that ideas about the project began as early as 1994 and the full-time development cycle time to the 2004 accomplishments w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ansari X PRIZE
The Ansari X Prize was a space competition in which the X Prize Foundation offered a US$10,000,000 () prize for the first non-government organization to launch a reusable crewed spacecraft into space twice within two weeks. It was modeled after early 20th-century aviation prizes, and aimed to spur development of low-cost spaceflight. Created in May 1996 and initially called just the "X Prize", it was renamed the "Ansari X Prize" on May 6, 2004, following a multimillion-dollar donation from entrepreneurs Anousheh Ansari and Amir Ansari. The prize was won on October 4, 2004, the 47th anniversary of the Sputnik 1 launch, by the Tier One project designed by Burt Rutan and financed by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, using the experimental spaceplane SpaceShipOne. $10 million was awarded to the winner, and more than $100 million was invested in new technologies in pursuit of the prize. Several other X Prizes have since been announced by the X Prize Foundation, promoting ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spacecraft
A spacecraft is a vehicle that is designed spaceflight, to fly and operate in outer space. Spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including Telecommunications, communications, Earth observation satellite, Earth observation, Weather satellite, meteorology, navigation, space colonization, Planetary science, planetary exploration, and Space transport, transportation of Human spaceflight, humans and cargo spacecraft, cargo. All spacecraft except single-stage-to-orbit vehicles cannot get into space on their own, and require a launch vehicle (carrier rocket). On a sub-orbital spaceflight, a space vehicle enters space and then returns to the surface without having gained sufficient energy or velocity to make a full Geocentric orbit, Earth orbit. For orbital spaceflights, spacecraft enter closed orbits around the Earth or around other Astronomical object, celestial bodies. Spacecraft used for human spaceflight carry people on board as crew or passengers from start or on orbit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flight 16P Taxi Pre-launch Photo Don Ramey Logan
Flight or flying is the motion of an object through an atmosphere, or through the vacuum of space, without contacting any planetary surface. This can be achieved by generating aerodynamic lift associated with gliding or propulsive thrust, aerostatically using buoyancy, or by ballistic movement. Many things can fly, from animal aviators such as birds, bats and insects, to natural gliders/parachuters such as patagial animals, anemochorous seeds and ballistospores, to human inventions like aircraft (airplanes, helicopters, airships, balloons, etc.) and rockets which may propel spacecraft and spaceplanes. The engineering aspects of flight are the purview of aerospace engineering which is subdivided into aeronautics, the study of vehicles that travel through the atmosphere, and astronautics, the study of vehicles that travel through space, and ballistics, the study of the flight of projectiles. Types of flight Buoyant flight Humans have managed to construct lighter-than ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1988 America's Cup
The 1988 America's Cup was the 27th America's Cup regatta, and was contested between the defender, San Diego Yacht Club represented by ''Stars & Stripes H3'', and the challenger, the Mercury Bay Boating Club represented by New Zealand Challenge's '' KZ-1''. Run under strict Deed of Gift rules, the regatta was won by San Diego Yacht Club, in a two-race sweep. Challenge and response The 1988 America's Cup was the first hostile Deed of Gift challenge. Dennis Conner had won the America's Cup for San Diego Yacht Club on February 4, 1987, at the 1987 America's Cup. In July, New Zealand banker Michael Fay went to the San Diego Yacht Club and issued a Notice of Challenge from the Mercury Bay Boating Club of New Zealand, which was based on a strict reading of the Deed of Gift. The Fay challenge stipulated that the boats to be sailed would be defined only by the details of the Deed, namely single masted yachts no more than at the waterline and that the race would be held the follow ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dennis Conner
Dennis Walter Conner (born September 16, 1942) is an American yachtsman. He is noted for winning a bronze medal at the 1976 Olympics, two Star World Championships, and three wins in the America's Cup. Sailing career Conner was born September 16, 1942, in San Diego. He competed in the 1976 Olympics together with Conn Findlay and took the bronze medal in the Tempest class. Conner also took part in the 1979 Admiral's Cup, as helmsman on the Peterson 45 named ''Williwaw''. America's Cup Conner has won the America's Cup three times, successfully defending the Cup in 1980 and 1988, and winning as the challenger in 1987. His 4–3 loss in 1983 to Australian Alan Bond's wing-keeled challenger ''Australia II'' marked the first time the United States had lost the Cup in the 132-year history of the competition, simultaneously ending a run by the New York Yacht Club that began with the first contest. Following the loss Conner formed his own syndicate, the Sail America Foundation, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stars & Stripes (yacht)
''Stars & Stripes'' (''Team Dennis Conner'') is the name of an America's Cup syndicate operated by Dennis Conner and its racing yachts, which are among the most famous in the world. The name "Stars & Stripes" refers to the nickname often used for the flag of the United States. TDC was registered under the flag of San Diego Yacht Club (SDYC). 12-metre class yachts The well funded Sail America Foundation commissioned four 12-metre yachts to support a campaign led by Dennis Conner, representing San Diego Yacht Club, to win back the America's Cup in the 1987 competition in Fremantle, Australia. * ''Stars & Stripes 83'' (US 53) built in 1985 by Geraghty Marine, designed by Chance/Nelson/Pedrick. * ''Stars & Stripes 85'' (US 54) built in 1985 by Robert E. Derektor Inc., designed by Chance/Nelson/Pedrick. Proved to be faster than ''Stars & Stripes'' 83. * ''Stars & Stripes 86'' (US 56) built in 1986 by Robert E. Derektor Inc., designed by Chance/Nelson/Pedrick. Designed with a dif ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Roncz
John Gregory Roncz (25 May 1948 – 27 September 2023) was an American aerodynamicist involved in the development of over 50 different aircraft, ranging from Ultralight aviation, ultralights, round-the world record breakers and military transports, to yachts and a racing car. He was described by Burt Rutan, the prolific aircraft creator, as "the genius of airfoil design". His most famous projects are the Rutan Voyager and the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer, which both flew around the world, non-stop and unrefuelled, and are now displayed at the Smithsonian Institution, Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum's buildings in Washington, D.C. and Chantilly, Virginia. Early life John Roncz was born to Peter John Roncz and his wife Catherine, nee Scheibelhut, of South Bend, Indiana, who were married in June 1946. Known as P. John Roncz, his father was a co-founder of Maron Products Inc, an engineering company specialising in metal stampings, mainly for the automotive industry. The yo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Steve Fossett
James Stephen Fossett (April 22, 1944 – September 3, 2007) was an American businessman and a record-setting aviator, sailor, and adventurer. He was the first person to fly solo nonstop around the world in a balloon and in a fixed-wing aircraft. He made his fortune in the financial services industry and held world records for five nonstop circumnavigations of the Earth: as a long-distance solo balloonist, as a sailor, and as a solo flight fixed-wing aircraft pilot. A fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and the Explorers Club, Fossett set more than one hundred records in five different sports, sixty of which still stood at the time of his death. He broke three of the seven absolute world records for fixed-wing aircraft recognized by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale, all in his Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer. In 2002, he was awarded the Gold Medal of the Royal Aero Club of the UK, and was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 2007. Fossett ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
