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Paul Allen Confirmed as SpaceShipOne's Sponsor

Posted by michael on from the sugar-daddy dept.

Shafe writes "Space.com confirmed suspicions that Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen was the secret investor in Burt Rutan's SpaceShipOne, which completed a successful supersonic flight on the same day as the centennial of flight. Allen hopes Rutan's ship will win the $10 million X-Prize to help kickstart private manned space flight."

7 of 276 comments (clear)

  1. TechTV reported this last night on TechTV live. by the_2nd_coming · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I wonder if Paul Allen will want to be the first Private citizen into space with the first privately built space ship.

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    I am the Alpha and the Omega-3
    1. Re:TechTV reported this last night on TechTV live. by mr_z_beeblebrox · · Score: 5, Interesting

      I wonder if Paul Allen will want to be the first Private citizen into space with the first privately built space ship.

      It is good to see people with his kind of wealth putting it to work for society. The benefits of a private space market will be....well more benefits than you could imagine. (sorry about the star wars thing) If his reason for doing this is just to get to be 'first inspace in a privately owned vehicle' well then, I wish him the best of luck!

    2. Re:TechTV reported this last night on TechTV live. by TrueBuckeye · · Score: 3, Interesting

      I would certainly go in a heartbeat if I had the option, but I don't know of the payload capacity of SS1...can it hold passengers as well as crew?

      --
      Was that night on the marge of Lake LaBarge I cremated Sam McGee...
  2. not necessarily a good indicator by social · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Allen's sponsorship isn't necessarily a good indicator that the project will be any more successful, as he has had some major slip-ups in the past. His Experience Music Project in Seattle has thus far proven to be a financial wreck.

  3. Re:Good for Paul! by mongbot · · Score: 5, Interesting

    It's funny that most geeks really admire Paul Allen and Steve Wozniak but hate Gates and Jobs.

    You have a point.

    Creating a spaceship is all well and good and will probably advance humanity in the long run. Kudos to Paul Allen for taking the initiative.

    But, in purely monetary terms, Bill Gates is much more charitable. In fact, it could be argued that he's the most philanthrophic individual in history. I don't like it any more than you do, but it's true. I suppose it's a small consolation to think that some of the "Microsoft tax" goes towards charity.

  4. Paul Allan is a JERK by zulux · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Paul Allan bought a summer camp out from under the camp, kicked the kids off and built a multi-million dollar trophy home in it's place.

    Kind of like a "Ernest Goes to Camp" without the happy ending.

    more info here

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    Moneyed corporations, non-working 'poor' and criminal prisoners are turning productive citizens into tax-slaves.

  5. Paul Allen is cool.... by The+Lynxpro · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Why can't Bill Gates be more like Paul Allen and then more people would actually like him? Or maybe more like Sir Richard Branson... Just a thought...

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    "Right now, somewhere in this world, Scott Baio is plowing a woman he doesn't love," - Peter Griffin, *Family Guy*