Burt Rutan

Burt Rutan has been called the most influential aircraft designer in America. A former project engineer at the Air Force Flight Test Center, he founded the Rutan Aircraft Factory to develop light aircraft. His unorthodox designs were adopted by a small army of homebuilders who revered him as a populist of aeronautics, bringing aviation to the masses. He made history with the Voyager, the first plane to circle the globe without refueling. His latest cause is the most dramatic of all, a new space program, completely independent of government funding. In view of the long decline of public sector support for space travel, Rutan argues that private individuals must step forward to fulfill mankind's historic mission of exploration. Within days of his address to the Academy, Rutan made good on his plan and launched SpaceShip One, the first privately funded space flight. The following year, the Virgin Atlantic Global Flyer, built by Rutan's company, Scaled Composites, completed the first solo non-stop, non-refueled flight around the world. Rutan continues to be a pioneer in the field of aerospace. He is currently developing space tourism flights with Richard Branson.