N
nuaetius
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http://www.space.com/news/070720_scaled_bought.html<br /><br />WASHINGTON - Northrop Grumman Corp. agreed July 5 to increase its stake in Scaled Composites - the builder of the Ansari X-Prize Cup-winning SpaceShipOne and a host of record-breaking aircraft - from 40 percent to 100 percent, Northrop Grumman spokesman Dan McClain confirmed July 20.<br /><br /><br />McClain, who declined to disclose the value of the deal, said the company expects it to close in August pending regulatory approval by the U.S. Department of Justice.<br /><br /><br />Scaled Composites currently is working with Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic venture on a vehicle designated for now as SpaceShipTwo, which would carry two pilots and six paying passengers into suborbital space for a few minutes of weightlessness. The company also is building a new carrier aircraft, dubbed WhiteKnight2, that will carry SpaceShipTwo to an altitude of 15 kilometers before releasing it to soar to suborbital space.<br /><br /><br />The two companies last year formed a joint venture called the Spaceship Company to build the new vehicles.<br /><br /><br />Alex Tai, chief operating officer of Virgin Galactic, declined to comment when asked July 20 how the acquisition would affect his company's dealings with Scaled Composites. "I'm afraid I can't provide you with any comment at this stage and I don't think [Scaled Composites] can either," Tai said.<br /><br /><br />Scaled Composites, with the backing of Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen, won the $10 million Ansari X Prize in 2004 when SpaceShipOne was piloted to an altitude just above the internationally recognized border of space twice in a two-week period.<br /><br /><br />I didn't know Northrop Grumman had such a huge stake in Scaled to begin with. I guess that means that Rutan now works for NG.. who would have thought that.