Stratolaunch Systems Space Aircraft Brings Paying Passengers Into Orbit With 6 Boeing 747 Engines

- A giant airplane that can launch a rocket carrying cargo and humans into orbit is the future of space travel, billionaire and Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen said. The first test flight of the ambitious venture by Allen’s new company Stratolaunch Systems is not scheduled until 2015, but partners in the project vowed it would revolutionize orbital travel in the post-space shuttle era. Using engines from six Boeing 747 jets, the biggest airliner ever built would tote a rock