SpaceShipTwo Won't Be Like SpaceShipOne (awesome Rutan quote on taking risks)

Aero-News Network ^ | Jan 10, 2005

[Names Ash Housewares]

Rutan Rocks.......

"Maybe that explains why he, and Branson, have already signed up -- and not just for themselves: each has also reserved a seat for his father. I guess that's a pretty good expression of confidence in the program. After all, Rutan has already said, if a flight was risky, he could be safer and crew it with "a lawyer. Or a liberal."

[socal_parrot]

Now that's funny.

[kingu]

It's retired, and it's going to be in the National Air and Space Museum on the Mall in Washington. Rutan told Nemiroff, "[E]veryone in the world wants to fly on it because it's the only operable, private manned spacecraft. However, Paul [Allen] feels that it needs to be preserved for the Air and Space Museum.... So, I don't think we're still debating it; it probably will not be flown again. I think we'll move on and our future space flying will be done with SpaceShipTwo instead of SpaceshipOne."

I'm sure he has some quirks that would disqualify him from being considered a Republican, but this is really the type of thinking that NASA desperately needs to regain.