Science News Roundup: US military curbs on space cooperation; Stratolaunch Systems Corporation shuts down

Exclusive: Space firm founded by billionaire Paul Allen closing operations - sources

Stratolaunch Systems Corporation, the space company founded by late billionaire and Microsoft Corp co-founder Paul Allen, is closing operations, cutting short ambitious plans to challenge traditional aerospace companies in a new "space race," four people familiar with the matter said on Friday. The company, a unit of Allen's privately held investment vehicle Vulcan Inc, had been developing a portfolio of launch vehicles including the world's largest aeroplane by wingspan to launch satellites and eventually humans into space.

Russia says U.S. military curbs on space cooperation are unfair competition

Russia accused the United States of trying to unfairly grab market share in the space services industry on Friday after the U.S. military imposed restrictions on space launch cooperation with Moscow. The U.S. Department of Defense on Friday banned contracts for Russian commercial satellite services if they were deemed to pose an unacceptable cybersecurity risk, a document on the U.S. government's Federal Register showed.