The world’s largest airplane made its first test flight on Saturday in California.
Stratolaunchย Systems Corporation,ย founded by Paul G. Allen, todayย successfully completedย theย first flightย of the worldโs largest all-composite aircraft,ย theย Stratolaunch.ย Withย aย dualย fuselage design andย wingspan greater than the length of an American footballย field,ย theย Stratolaunchย aircraft tookย flight at 0658ย PDT from the Mojave Air & Space Port.
Achieving a maximum speed ofย 189 miles per hour, the plane flew forย 2.5 hoursย over the Mojaveย Desert at altitudes up toย 17,000 feet.ย As part of theย initialย flight, the pilots evaluated aircraft performance and handling qualities before landing successfully back at the Mojave Air and Space Port.
โWhat a fantastic first flight,โ said Jean Floyd, CEO of Stratolaunch. โTodayโs flight furthers our mission to provide a flexible alternative to ground launched systems. We are incredibly proud of the Stratolaunch team, todayโs flight crew, our partners at Northrup Grummanโs Scaled Composites and the Mojave Air and Space Port.โ
Theย testย team conducted standard aircraft testing exercises. Initial results from todayโs test points include:
- Performed a variety of flight control maneuversย to calibrate speed andย test flight controlย systems, including roll doublets, yawing maneuvers, pushovers andย pull-ups, and steadyย heading side slips.
- Conducted simulated landing approach exercises at a max altitude of 15,000 feet mean sea level.
Theย Stratolaunchย aircraft is a mobile launch platform that will enable airline-style access to space that is convenient, affordable and routine. The reinforced center wing can support multiple launch vehicles, weighing up to a total of 500,000 pounds.
โWeย all know Paul would have beenย proud to witness todayโs historic achievement,โย said Jody Allen,ย Chair of Vulcan Inc. and Trustee of the Paul G. Allen Trust.ย โThe aircraftย isย a remarkable engineering achievement and we congratulate everyone involved.โ
It landed safely back at the Mojave Air and Space Port as a crowd of hundreds of people cheered.
WHAT TO TAKE AWAY FROM THIS ARTICLE:
- We are incredibly proud of the Stratolaunch team, today's flight crew, our partners at Northrup Grumman's Scaled Composites and the Mojave Air and Space Port.
- It landed safely back at the Mojave Air and Space Port as a crowd of hundreds of people cheered.
- ย As part of theย initialย flight, the pilots evaluated aircraft performance and handling qualities before landing successfully back at the Mojave Air and Space Port.
