Burt Rutan's Race to Space: The Magician of Mojave and His Flying Innovations

Years ago Burt Rutan told a reporter for Popular Mechanics If we make a courageous decision like the goal and program we kicked off for Apollo in 1961 we will see our children or grandchildren in outposts on other planets. Legendary science-fiction writer Arthur C. Clark would later recall Rutans quote in a piece he wrote about SpaceShipOne and comment Fortunately we need not rely solely on governments for expanding humanitys presence beyond the Earth. Burt Rutans Race to Space showcases Rutans herculean efforts to do just that. Smithsonians Air and Space Museum displays his most celebrated achievements including SpaceShipOne which won the coveted $10 million Ansari X Prize for private spaceflight; Voyager which hangs with SpaceShipOne in the Milestones of Flight gallery; the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer; and the VariEze. His many aerospace innovations preceding his most recently conceived designs SpaceShipTwo and WhiteKnightTwo chronicle a progressive step-by-step attempt to break barriers with engineering know-how and a wondrous imagination all the while remaining on the forefront of the burgeoning private spaceflight industry. Rutans X Prize triumph and subsequent spacecraft designs are not a beginning nor an end but are steps in Burt Rutans continuing adventure to expand humanitys presence beyond the Earth and into space.