San Jose STS
SpaceShipOne
The New Frontier
of Commercial Space Travel

Burt Rutan
Engineer, Adventurer, Entrepreneur
Scaled Composites, Inc.

Tuesday, November 30th, 2004
Winner of the $10 million
X-Prize, described by Newsweek as "the man responsible for more innovations in modern aviation than any living engineer, Burt Rutan is a bold entrepreneur and designer with the passion for the advancement of technology.
"The next 25 years will be a wild ride. . . one that history will note was done for the benefit of everyone." With SpaceShipOne "we proved [access to space] can be achieved by a small company operating with limited resources and a few dozen dedicated employees."

Rutan’s visions for the future – including an individual small aircraft transportation system, space travel for “the rest of us” and a technology-enabled super society – will stir the imagination of any audience. Lively and witty, he inspires audiences with his enthusiasm for what individuals with vision can achieve.

Burt Rutan is a gifted engineer, adventurer and entrepreneur. Designer of the record-breaking Voyager - the first airplane to circle the world non-stop and without refueling - Rutan’s story is the stuff of American folklore. Like all of his airplanes, the Voyager employed some of the most advanced designs in use today. Hollywood has showcased his sleek, avant-garde designs in three films: Death Race 2000, Octopussy and Iron Eagle III.

“I’m doing essentially the same kind of thing I did when I was as a kid except I’m doing it with rocket ships and airplanes and special vehicles.”

Rutan’s company, Scaled Composites (named for its trademark use of carbonfiber composites), has developed a diverse array of projects, including the catamaran for Dennis Connor in the America’s Cup challenge and the gondola for Virgin Atlantic’s Richard Branson’s attempted non-stop balloon flight around the world. Rutan also developed an allcomposite car body for General Motor’s 100 mpg show car.

The success of Scaled Composites owes itself partly to Rutan’s philosophy that the best ideas come from the collaborative efforts of small, closely-knit project teams. By maintaining his entrepreneurial edge, Rutan has streamlined costs while stimulating creativity and innovation.

“An engineer in a normal aerospace company,” says Rutan, “gets to work on two or three airplanes in his whole career. We have developed over forty new types since 1972.”

Rutan has received many awards, including the Chrysler Award for Innovation in Design, “Engineer of the Year” by Design News, the British Gold Medal for Aeronautics, the Collier Trophy and the Presidential Citizen’s Medal.