MOJAVE, Calif. (AP) — Burt Rutan, inventor of the first
privately financed manned rocket to reach space, stepped down as president of
Scaled Composites LLC, the company announced Wednesday.
Rutan gave up his day-to-day responsibilities at Scaled,
which he founded in 1982. Scaled Vice President Douglas B. Shane was promoted
to president, while Rutan will remain at the company as chief technology
officer and chairman emeritus.
"I suggested this change to our organizational
structure because I want to focus on developing our talented, innovative
team," Rutan said in a statement.
Rutan has been recovering from open-heart surgery in
February to fix a disorder known as constrictive pericarditis, in which the sac
covering the heart is inflamed.
"I am successfully recovering from about eight
months of significant heart health challenges, and with this move look forward
to many more years of fun here at Scaled," he said.
Rutan made history in 2004 when his design, SpaceShipOne,
became the first private manned rocket to reach space. The craft, funded by
Microsoft Corp. co-founder Paul Allen, went on to win the $10 million Ansari X
Prize with two more suborbital flights in five days from the Mojave Desert.
Rutan has since joined with British billionaire Richard
Branson to develop a commercial spaceship flown by two pilots and carrying up
to six passengers who will pay about $200,000 apiece for the ride.
Rutan became widely known as an aviation pioneer in 1986
when another of his designs, the Voyager aircraft, flown by his brother, Dick,
and Jeana Yeager, made the first non-stop flight around the world without
refueling.
Northrop Grumman Corp. purchased Scaled in 2007.
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