Rutan in Alabama

Burt Rutan is scheduled to be a keynote speaker tomorrow at the Blackburn Institute 2007 Academic Symposium at the University of Alabama, part of an event titled “Responsibility for the Future Exploration and Development of Space”. Ordinarily this wouldn’t be that newsworthy of an event, but it will be one of the fist public speaking engagements by Rutan since the accident last month that killed three Scaled Composites employees. (I checked with the university’s public affairs department yesterday and confirmed that he is still scheduled to speak.)

Both Scaled and Virgin Galactic have kept a low profile since the accident, something discussed in an online article from an unlikely source: KOLO-TV in Reno, Nevada. One item of note: Virgin Galactic president Will Whitehorn said that the accident had not caused any existing customers to back out, and, in fact, four new customers have signed up.

1 comment to Rutan in Alabama

  • Thomas Matula

    And why would anyone want to back out? Would people stop flying Boeing airliners just because an accident occurred as the Boeing plant during engine development?

    The biggest impact of this accident really appears to be on the alt.space community which has had the good luck to not lose anyone so far while being involved in a very dangerous activity. Yes, its one thing to talk about being involved in a dangerous activity, another when the danger is actually driven home as it was with this accident.

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