The Long Beach company’s goal is to send small satellites into orbit via rockets released from the plane’s wing midflight. Find more information about Stratolaunch from Scaled Composites.In November, Richard Branson’s small-satellite launch firm Virgin Orbit flew its modified Boeing 747 with a rocket attached beneath one of its wings for the first time, marking a step toward its first test launch.Learn more about Stratolaunch at their company website.Once that's complete, the plane will be ready to serve as an air-launch platform. Stratolaunch said back in 2018 that it expected to take 18 to 24 months to complete Roc's test- flight program and receive an airworthiness certificate from the Federal Aviation Administration. And for the most part, the airplane flew as predicted, which is again exactly what we want," pilot Evan Thomas said during a news conference on the same day as the flight. "The flight itself was smooth, which is exactly what you want the first flight to be. Roc reached a peak altitude of 17,000 feet (5,180 m) and a top speed of 189 mph (304 km/h), ending with a touchdown back at Mojave Air and Space Port. Allen Trust, said in a statement released by Stratolaunch Systems, the company that owns and operates the enormous new plane.ĭuring its first historic flight, the huge airplane stayed aloft for 2.5 hours.
"The aircraft is a remarkable engineering achievement, and we congratulate everyone involved," Jody Allen, chair of Vulcan Inc. On April 13, 2019, the world's largest airplane flew from the Mojave Air and Space Port in Mojave, California, for the first time. (Image credit: Stratolaunch) Stratolaunch's first flight Stratolaunch's rocket-carrying plane flew for the first time on April 13, 2019. In 2018, Roc practiced for its first flight with several taxi tests in which the craft raced down a runway under its own power, reaching a top speed of 136 mph (219 km/h) but didn't take off. Allen's death in the intervening time had raised questions about the company's future, since it was almost entirely funded by him. Allen.īut just six months later, Stratolaunch said they would be abandoning those plans. The vehicle would have been powered by an engine called PGA, named after the initials of Paul G. (3,400 kg) into low Earth orbit, the company announced in August 2018. Called the Medium Launch Vehicle, it would have been capable of placing 7,500 lbs. Company officials said at the time that everything operated as anticipated.Īt one point, the company planned to develop its own rockets. The enormous airplane's first test came in 2017, when Stratolaunch rolled it out on the runway in Mojave to test its steering, braking, anti-skid and telemetry systems. The plane was built by Scaled Composites, the company founded by Burt Rutan that also built SpaceShipOne, which won the Ansari X Prize in 2004. (almost 250,000 kg) with up to three rockets under the wing at the center of the vehicle. Nicknamed "Roc," the craft has a wingspan of 385 feet (117 m) - about the same length as the International Space Station. (227,000 kilograms), and it can carry another 550,000 lbs.
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