Paul Allen unveils new business for commercial spacecraft

By Jeff Hughes Published December 14, 2011

With government funded space flight taking a hit lately, Seattle billionaire and Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen has stepped in with a pioneering vision for commercial space travel. Allen, on Tuesday, unveiled designs for an efficient air-launch system that resembled a giant airplane split into two fuselages. The craft will take both government and commercial payloads into orbit, with human missions as an eventual goal.

Though one might be tempted to compare the giant craft to Howard Hughes’ failed Spruce Goose, Allen’s aircraft is much larger. The billionaire is also no stranger to spaceflight. Allen funded the development of SpaceShipOne, the first manned private spaceflight.

Recommended Videos

The commercial space transport system will be built by Stratolaunch Systems, Allen’s new company. Burt Rutan, an aerospace engineer integral to the development of SpaceShipOne, will be helping Allen develop his new project. The billionaire believes that the carrier plane lifting rocket ships to higher altitude will be both safer and more cost-effective than launching a rocket from the ground.

“I have long dreamed about taking the next big step in private space flight after the success of SpaceShipOne – to offer a flexible, orbital space delivery system,” Paul Allen stated at a press event in Seattle.

As far as specs go, the aircraft carrier will have an enormous wingspan of 385 feet and will have a gross weight of 1.2 million pounds – it may just be the largest aircraft ever to fly. The carrier will use six Boeing 747 engines and will be able to fly 1,300 nautical miles. The size of the craft’s runway will need to be 12,000 feet long.

The goal is for the Stratolaunch craft to have a first flight within five years. The manufacturing of the aircraft is broken into three primary components. First, is the carrier aircraft which will be manufactured by the Rutan-founded Scaled Composites. The multi-stage booster will be taken care of by Elon Musk’s California-based Space Exploration Technologies. Finally, the coupling system that allows the carrier aircraft to hold the booster will be built by the aerospace engineering company Dynetics. After NASA’s last space shuttle launch, private funding may be just what space travel needs to get us to Kepler-22b.

Former Digital Trends Contributor

I'm a SF Bay Area-based writer/ninja that loves anything geek, tech, comic, social media or gaming-related.

Topics

Emerging Tech

Cars

The Ioniq 5 is once again eligible for the $7,500 tax credit

2025 Hyundai Ioniq 5

After a brief and confusing absence, the Hyundai Ioniq 5 is once again eligible for the full $7,500 federal tax credit — and this time, it's sticking around (at least for now). So, what happened? Let’s unpack the ride.

The Ioniq 5, a sleek and tech-savvy electric crossover, initially made headlines not just for its design, but for being built at Hyundai’s brand-new Metaplant in Georgia. That domestic assembly qualified it for the EV tax credit under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which requires vehicles to be made in North America with batteries sourced from trade-friendly countries. But early in 2025, the Ioniq 5 vanished from the list. Why? Likely due to its battery packs, which were then still being sourced from SK On’s Hungarian facility.

Entertainment

Sebastian Stan lays out Bucky’s future after Thunderbolts

Sebastian Stan in Thunderbolts.

There are some spoilers ahead for the ending of Marvel's Thunderbolts. Stop reading now if you don't want to be spoiled.

Earlier this year, Captain America: Brave New World briefly introduced a new direction for James "Bucky" Barnes, a character Sebastian Stan has been playing since 2011 in Captain America: The First Avenger. In Brave New World, the former Winter Soldier apparently retired from being a reformed hero and went into politics by running for Congress. Thunderbolts reveals that Bucky won his election to the House of Representatives. But his stay in Congress was short.

Cars

Jeep Compass EV breaks cover—but will it come to the U.S.?

jeep compass ev us newjeepcompassfirsteditionhawaii 4

Jeep just pulled the wraps off the all-new Compass EV, and while it’s an exciting leap into the electric future, there's a catch—it might not make it to the U.S. anytime soon.
This is a brand new electric version of the Jeep Compass, and being built on Stellantis' STLA platform—the same architecture underpinning models like the Peugeot E-3008 and E-5008—it looks much slicker and packs a lot more inside than previous versions of the Compass.
Let’s start with what’s cool: the new Compass EV is packing up to 404 miles of range on a single charge, a 74 kWh battery, and fast-charging that gets you from 20% to 80% in about 30 minutes. Not bad for a compact SUV with Jeep's badge on the nose.
There are two versions: a front-wheel-drive model with 213 horsepower and a beefier all-wheel-drive version with 375 horsepower. That AWD setup isn’t just for looks—it can handle 20% inclines even without front traction, and comes with extra ground clearance and better off-road angles. In short, it’s still a Jeep.
The design's been refreshed too, and inside you’ll find the kind of tech and comfort you’d expect in a modern EV—sleek, smart, and ready for both city streets and dirt trails.
But here’s the thing: even though production starts soon in Italy, Jeep hasn’t said whether the Compass EV is coming to America. And the signs aren’t promising.
Plans to build it in Canada were recently put on hold, with production now delayed until at least early 2026. Some of that might have to do with possible U.S. tariffs on Canadian and Mexican vehicles—adding a layer of uncertainty to the whole rollout.
According to Kelley Blue Book, a Stellantis spokesperson confirmed that the company has “temporarily paused work on the next-generation Jeep Compass, including activities at” the Canadian plant that was originally meant to build the model. They added that Stellantis is “reassessing its product strategy in North America” to better match customer needs and demand for different powertrain options.
So while Europe and other markets are gearing up to get the Compass EV soon, American drivers might be left waiting—or miss out entirely.
That’s a shame, because on paper, this electric Jeep hits a lot of sweet spots. Let’s just hope it finds a way over here.