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Stratolaunch
Created Saturday 01 May 2021
See also: Aircraft
Articles
Stratolaunch completes second flight of world's largest plane
The plane flew for three hours and 14 minutes.
Mariella Moon - April 30th, 2021
Stratolaunch has taken another step towards its goal of air-launching hypersonic vehicles. On Thursday, the company has completed the second test flight of its carrier vehicle, which is currently known for being the world's largest aircraft by wingspan. The dual-fuselage launch vehicle with a 385—foot wingspan flew for three hours and 14 minutes over the Mojave Desert at an altitude of 14,000 feet. While it didn't fly as high as it did (17,000 feet) during its first test flight a year ago, it flew 44 minutes longer than before.
https://www.engadget.com/stratolaunch-second-flight-worlds-largest-plane-052602892.html
Test Flight of World's Largest Plane Ends Prematurely
Stratolaunch ended the sixth test flight of its massive carrier aircraft Roc two hours early and was vague as to the reasons why.
Kevin Hurler - 13 June 2022
Following its latest test, Stratolaunch, the private aerospace company behind the world’s largest plane, cryptically explained that Roc had to land two hours earlier than planned following a failure to meet the test objectives.
The carrier aircraft features a twin fuselage design and a wingspan of over 385 feet (117 meters), making it the largest plane in the world. Stratolaunch conducted Roc’s sixth test flight last week on June 9 over the Mojave Desert, where the plane reached a maximum altitude of 15,000 feet (4,572 meters). The the company made the decision to land Roc prematurely, which flew for 1 hour and 26 minutes instead of the scheduled 3.5 hours.
https://gizmodo.com/stratolaunch-hypersonic-missile-defense-1849052550
Stratolaunch takes ready-to-fly hypersonic craft skyward, but still no launch
Scheduled summer Mach 5 flight deadline came and went
Brandon Vigliarolo - Wed 6 Dec 2023 22:30 UTC
Stratolaunch has taken its Talon-A reusable hypersonic aircraft into the sky fully fueled and ready to launch, but the long-delayed test flight isn't happening yet.
The operator of the world's largest aircraft said reported it had flown the Roc mothership, which will be used as an airborne launcher for its reusable hypersonic craft, for a three-hour tour with the first fully-fueled Talon-A. When it finally launches, the unmanned aircraft is designed to fly at Mach 5 or above carrying a variety of payloads, before landing ready for reuse.
Founded in part by late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen in 2011, Stratolaunch said that TA-1 was fully fueled “with live propellant as part of a buildup approach for Talon-A's first powered flight” - A flight that was supposed to take place this past summer, according to its claims after its last test flight in May.
That flight saw Roc, take an unpowered Talon-A into the air to demonstrate a clean separation from the mothership, which you can see below. By design, the dual-fuselage Roc, which carries the Talon-A between its two bodies, is designed to launch reusable Talon-A's from an altitude of 30,000 feet. Up to three Talon-A hypersonic aircraft can be carried by the jumbo-jumbo jet.
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https://www.theregister.com/2023/12/06/stratolaunch_hypersonic_craft/
After coming back from the dead, the world’s largest aircraft just flew a real payload
Falling just short of hypersonic velocity.
Eric Berger - 3/11/2024, 8:27 AM
Built and flown by Stratolaunch, the massive Roc aircraft took off from Mojave Air and Space Port in California on Saturday. The airplane flew out over the Pacific Ocean, where it deployed the Talon-A vehicle, which looks something like a mini space shuttle.
This marked the first time this gargantuan airplane released an honest-to-goodness payload, the first Talon-A vehicle, TA-1, which is intended to fly at hypersonic speed. During the flight, TA-1 didn't quite reach hypersonic velocity, which begins at Mach 5, or five times greater than the speed of sound.
“While I can’t share the specific altitude and speed TA-1 reached due to proprietary agreements with our customers, we are pleased to share that in addition to meeting all primary and customer objectives of the flight, we reached high supersonic speeds approaching Mach 5 and collected a great amount of data at an incredible value to our customers,” said Zachary Krevor, chief executive of Stratolaunch, in a statement.
In essence, the TA-1 vehicle is a pathfinder for subsequent versions of the vehicle that will be both reusable and capable of reaching hypersonic speeds. The flight of the company's next vehicle, TA-2, could come later this year, Krevor said.