On February 24, Stratolaunch, the world's largest aircraft, successfully flew its fourth test flight at Mojave Airport in the Southern California desert, flying for 1 hour and 43 minutes, with a top speed of 530 miles per hour and a maximum altitude of 15,000 feet (4,572 meters).
Stratolaunch was reportedly developed by a company of the same name founded in 2011 by the late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen with the goal of achieving full operational capabilities by mid-to-late 2023.
Stratolaunch was designed as a launch aircraft launched from space.
Allen intends to use it as a launch aircraft launched from space, launching reusable hypersonic flight researchers. The project plans to carry a rocket equipped with satellites under the center of the wing and release it at a high altitude.
Dr. Zachary Krevor, President and Chief Operating Officer of Stratolaunch, said the successful flight on the 24th demonstrated and validated improvements to the carrier aircraft system and overall flight performance.
The wingspan of the Stratolaunch aircraft is compared to other aircraft types.
Stratolaunch has a wingspan of 383 feet (about 117 meters), which is wider than the length of a football field from goal to goal, which is generally around 345 feet.
The Stratolaunch's twin fuselage resembles a catamaran, requiring a three-man crew, the pilot, co-pilot and flight engineer, who sit in the fuselage on the right and maneuver the aircraft over a considerable distance to the right of the centerline.
The Stratolaunch is powered by the same type of engine used by boeing 747 aircraft.
Powered by the same type of engine used by boeing 747 aircraft, the Stratolaunch weighs about 500,000 pounds without any cargo. But the aircraft can take off with a maximum weight of 1.3 million pounds (589676 kilograms).
In addition to its record-breaking width, Stratolaunch has an impressive height — 50 feet from the ground to the top of the vertical tail, the equivalent of four stories.
When Stratolaunch was founded in 2011, the project was initially valued at $300 million, and by 2019 it was valued at $400 million.
The middle of Stratolaunch will carry the reusable, rocket-powered hypersonic vehicle Talon A.
The company is also developing the Talon A, a reusable, rocket-powered hypersonic vehicle that will be mounted on the aircraft.
Dr. Claywall said there will be a Talon A separation and hypersonic flight test later this year.
It is reported that the Stratolaunch aircraft first appeared at Mojave Airport in May 2017 and was tested on the ground.
In October 2018, Allen died of complications from non-Hodgkin lymphoma at the age of 65.
After its first flight in April 2019, Stratolaunch underwent a change of ownership. Reports in December 2019 revealed that Stratolaunch was acquired by Cerberus Capital Management.
In April 2021, Stratolaunch conducted two official test flights.
On January 16 of this year, Stratolaunch made its third official test flight, which lasted four hours and 23 minutes over the Mojave Desert and reached an altitude of 23,500 feet (7,162.8 meters).
Text/Nandu reporter Chen Lin