[Reading Science] "Bigger than a soccer field"... The world's largest airplane took off for the 9th time

US Stratolaunch's 'Rock' Successfully Completes 9th Test Flight on the 13th

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] The world's largest airplane has increased its potential for commercialization by successfully completing its ninth test flight.

Stratolaunch, a U.S. company, announced on the 13th that its giant aircraft Roc, developed as an air launch platform for hypersonic vehicles, successfully completed its ninth test flight. The wingspan of this aircraft measures 117 meters, longer than an American football field. It was built by connecting two aircraft, with a fuselage length of 73 meters and a weight of 227 tons.

The super large aircraft Roc being developed by the American company Stratolaunch. Photo by Stratolaunch website.

On the same day, Roc took off from Mojave Air and Space Port in the Mojave Desert, California, maintained a maximum altitude of 22,500 feet (approximately 6,860 meters), flew for about six hours, and landed around 5:51 PM, completing a successful flight. Notably, this flight marked the first time Roc flew outside the Mojave Desert.

Originally developed for launching low Earth orbit satellites, the aircraft's purpose has recently shifted to testing hypersonic aircraft. This flight was the second test flight conducted with the Talon-A hypersonic aircraft, which Stratolaunch is developing, onboard.

Stratolaunch was founded in 2011 by Paul Allen, co-founder of Microsoft, with the goal of developing a giant aircraft for space launch vehicles. After Paul Allen passed away in 2018, the company was sold to Cerberus Capital Management the following year. At that time, Roc's purpose was changed to a platform for hypersonic aircraft research and development. The company plans to produce and begin test flights of Talon, an unmanned autonomous hypersonic vehicle currently under development, by the end of this year.

Meanwhile, the development of air launch platforms for space rockets using giant aircraft like Roc has been actively pursued to reduce costs but has recently faced difficulties. Virgin Orbit, founded by British billionaire Richard Branson, used a modified Boeing 747 aircraft called "Cosmic Girl 747" to launch the LauncherOne rocket on the 9th but failed to reach orbit. Northrop Grumman in the U.S. also has a record of 39 successful launches out of 44 air launches of its Pegasus vehicle from its first air launch in 1990 through 2019. The advantages include lower costs and flexibility in setting launch azimuth, weather, and location. However, there are challenges due to limitations in the altitude and payload capacity of the carrier aircraft.