Stratolaunch, U.S. Air Force Research Lab Announce Contract
The agreement between the company behind the aircraft with the world’s largest wingspan and the R&D arm of the Air Force calls for the first flight test of a hypersonic test vehicle.
Stratolaunch’s Roc, the world’s largest airplane by wingspan, now includes a new pylon on its center wing. [Courtesy: Stratolaunch]
The U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory has entered into a contract with Stratolaunch, the company behind the aircraft with the world's largest wingspan, to support the first flight test of a hypersonic test vehicle.
The test will involve Stratolaunch’s second reusable Talon-A hypersonic test vehicle, TA-3, which will be launched by Roc, the world's largest aircraft. The Talon-A vehicles are rocket powered and able to fly a variety of hypersonic flight profiles while carrying payload experiments on board, the company said.
- READ MORE: The World’s Largest Airplane: By the Numbers
"Reusability is an important factor enabling an increase in the cadence of hypersonic testing," Stratolaunch said in a statement. "Stratolaunch’s repeatable approach enables rapid, iterative testing, increasing the pace of access to the hypersonic environment while reducing development cost, schedule, and risk."
In May, Stratolaunch completed a test flight during which its Talon-A test vehicle successfully separated from its Roc flying launch platform.
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