They have no source of revenue. If nobody bought them there is no funding to complete whatever remaining development is needed to develop a revenue stream from actual customers. There is no business here yet.
Official press release.https://www.stratolaunch.com/2019/10/11/stratolaunch-transitions-ownership/
Quote from: Star One on 10/12/2019 08:58 amOfficial press release.https://www.stratolaunch.com/2019/10/11/stratolaunch-transitions-ownership/So no new buyer, it seems? Something they "forgot" to mention. This appears to just have been a stunt to get some press to raise their profile to potential investors/buyers.But I could be wrong...
Quote from: Lars-J on 10/12/2019 06:35 pmQuote from: Star One on 10/12/2019 08:58 amOfficial press release.https://www.stratolaunch.com/2019/10/11/stratolaunch-transitions-ownership/So no new buyer, it seems? Something they "forgot" to mention. This appears to just have been a stunt to get some press to raise their profile to potential investors/buyers.But I could be wrong...I'm confused. The press release on the website is identical to the one on Twitter.
Quote from: ncb1397 on 10/12/2019 06:41 pmQuote from: Lars-J on 10/12/2019 06:35 pmQuote from: Star One on 10/12/2019 08:58 amOfficial press release.https://www.stratolaunch.com/2019/10/11/stratolaunch-transitions-ownership/So no new buyer, it seems? Something they "forgot" to mention. This appears to just have been a stunt to get some press to raise their profile to potential investors/buyers.But I could be wrong...I'm confused. The press release on the website is identical to the one on Twitter."transition ownership" with no further detail seems awfully vague... Certainly would have been easier to type "purchased", "bought", or "sold", nevermind mentioning the new owner.A possible interpretation is "one of the current smaller stakeholders agreed to support operations for some time longer in exchange for a larger share."Which also reads "The other shareholders didn't".
A Stratolaunch spokesperson told SpaceNews that the company is “not sharing any details about the new ownership or details of the transaction at this time.”
Quote from: xyv on 10/12/2019 01:17 amThey have no source of revenue. If nobody bought them there is no funding to complete whatever remaining development is needed to develop a revenue stream from actual customers. There is no business here yet.Unless you have inside knowledge, you can't with 100 percent certainty come to that conclusion. How do you know they have no funding? They have to be paying employees somehow. They're not advertising for unpaid interns. They may have a customer that has need for the unique capabilities their aircraft can offer. Until they publicly say, you don't know.
Stratolaunch reported the ownership handover today on Twitter and its website, without saying who the new owner is. However, information gleaned from the grapevine at Mojave Air and Space Port, where Stratolaunch’s flight operations are based, suggests that private investors are playing a role.
Perhaps VG added it to their air launch stable, Brandon has the deep pickets. Maybe to launch P2P testbeds?
Quote from: docmordrid on 10/13/2019 03:50 amPerhaps VG added it to their air launch stable, Brandon has the deep pickets. Maybe to launch P2P testbeds?Can we stop with assuming that VG or VO will want to buy Stratolaunch just because it looks like WhiteKnightTwo? Both those companies have their bases covered and don't want a half-billion dollar albatross around their neck.
Quote from: ParabolicSnark on 10/14/2019 03:06 pmQuote from: docmordrid on 10/13/2019 03:50 amPerhaps VG added it to their air launch stable, Brandon has the deep pickets. Maybe to launch P2P testbeds?Can we stop with assuming that VG or VO will want to buy Stratolaunch just because it looks like WhiteKnightTwo? Both those companies have their bases covered and don't want a half-billion dollar albatross around their neck.If it was such an albatross I don’t think this company would still exist now. Someone must think there is a use in it.
Haven't seen this one posted: https://www.geekwire.com/2019/stratolaunch-air-launch-venture-says-sold-paul-allens-vulcan-new-owner/QuoteStratolaunch reported the ownership handover today on Twitter and its website, without saying who the new owner is. However, information gleaned from the grapevine at Mojave Air and Space Port, where Stratolaunch’s flight operations are based, suggests that private investors are playing a role.
In the absence of other information, several factors suggest that Northrop Grumman may play a key role in the Stratolaunch transition. The company already has Scaled Composites as a subsidiary. It has long experience in air-launch systems by virtue of its acquisition of Orbital Sciences Corp. And according to Spaceflight Now, Northrop Grumman recently reacquired the Pegasus XL rockets it was assembling for Stratolaunch’s use.
The company did not say who its new owner is. Two people familiar with the matter said, without providing further specifics, that it is a group of investors.
Quote from: Star One on 10/14/2019 04:06 pmQuote from: ParabolicSnark on 10/14/2019 03:06 pmQuote from: docmordrid on 10/13/2019 03:50 amPerhaps VG added it to their air launch stable, Brandon has the deep pickets. Maybe to launch P2P testbeds?Can we stop with assuming that VG or VO will want to buy Stratolaunch just because it looks like WhiteKnightTwo? Both those companies have their bases covered and don't want a half-billion dollar albatross around their neck.If it was such an albatross I don’t think this company would still exist now. Someone must think there is a use in it.There's a debate to be had about whether you'd consider the company in its current state as "existing". It was funded by a billionaire with a soft spot for space/aviation and the project essentially killed immediately after his passing. That indicates that his family/trust/board/holding company didn't think it was worth it and wanted to offload it to the first sucker they could find. Looks like they lucked out and found one, but who knows what their motives for it are?
