Rutan's "Scaled Composites" is now a wholely owned subsidary of Northrop Grumman.

[kallistii]

It seems that Northrop Grumman has bought the remaining 51% of Burt Rutan's "Scaled Composites" that it didn't own. The Grumman part of Northrop Grumman is probably best known as the builder of the Lunar Excursion Module of the Apollo program. As the company is ramping up for production for the Virgin Galactic spaceships, I guess that N-G saw a window of opportunity, or Mr. Rutan has decided to cash-out so that he can work on another project. The details and circumstances surrounding the buyout are not available at this time.

Comments

[filkerdave.livejournal.com]

Probably better known as the makers of the F-14 Tomcat, the A6 and the E2-C -- especially for anyone who's ever seen Top Gun.

But yes, the Lunar Lander's a big thing with them, too.

[kallisti.livejournal.com]

Those are definitely some of their aeronautical achievements, but I was focusing on their space oriented products. A Canadian subcontractor built the legs for the LEM, which later gave them the "in" on designing and building the "Canadarm", which is an integral part of both the Space Shuttle and the ISS.

ttyl