# What's Rutan Up to Now? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 23, 2005, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-rutan-up-to-now/300702 "2005-04-23T00:50:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2005, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-rutan-up-to-now/300702/1 "2005-04-23T00:50:08Z")
[Check out picture 8.](http://www.nasa.gov/externalflash/Griffin/index.html) You’ll see Rutan and the new head of NASA pouring over what appears to be a blueprint. Hmmmm. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2005, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-rutan-up-to-now/300702/2 "2005-04-23T12:23:32Z")
The thing about Rutan is, for a long while the hangar door stays closed and you don’t hear _anything_. Maybe the occassional bang or rattle, that’s it. Then one day the doors open, some weird thing rolls out to the runway, and the tower at Mojave says “Burt, what do you call that thing?” We’ll find out when he’s ready to tell us. As long as he keeps coming up with cool, new stuff that actually works I’m OK with that. ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2005, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-rutan-up-to-now/300702/3 "2005-04-23T13:02:51Z")
That’s a LANDER! Look at the legs! ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2005, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-rutan-up-to-now/300702/4 "2005-04-23T14:25:20Z")
> [@](#): > > From Burt Rutan > > [This is very long, but I include it for obvious reasons] > > I had a very interesting private meeting with Mike Griffin yesterday. > Anyone interested in how NASA might be run under the new administrator should definitely read the information below. Very good stuff herein. > > Look for some very big early changes at NASA….the building was on fire as I arrived……really! > > burt [http://www.jerrypournelle.com/mail/mail358.html#Thursday](http://www.jerrypournelle.com/mail/mail358.html#Thursday) (scroll down) Nothing else about the meeting but some interesting stuff from Dr Griffin. Brian ---
**Author:** ![Santos\_L\_Halper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/santos_l_halper/32/1_2.png) [@Santos\_L\_Halper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santos_L_Halper)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2005, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-rutan-up-to-now/300702/5 "2005-04-23T15:19:46Z")
> [@E-Sabbath](#): > > That’s a LANDER! Look at the legs! That’s what I thought when I first saw the picture. 🙂 I think what looks like legs is actually the tail surfaces of his next generation spacecraft. Compare it to these [screen captures](http://www.toymiata.com/temp/tiertwo.htm) I saved from the Discovery Channel shows about Space Ship One. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2005, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-rutan-up-to-now/300702/6 "2005-04-23T18:17:50Z")
Right, he has a contract with Sir Richard Branson to build SpaceShip Two for his new “Virgin Galactic”. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2005, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-rutan-up-to-now/300702/7 "2005-04-23T23:13:58Z")
He’s also doing some work for NASA on the return to the Moon plans (though he’s no longer going to be a prime contractor on it).