The biggest airplane ever built just flew over the Mojave desert for its fifth test flight, inching closer to fulfilling its role of carrying and releasing hypersonic vehicles. The data gathered during the test flight is currently being analyzed by the company, according to the press release. Since tests began three years ago, it has been the fifth flight of the vehicle. The bird named after the giant bird in Middle Eastern mythology flew for 4 hours and 58 minutes, reaching an altitude of 22,500 feet (6,858 meters). The team behind the airplane tested out a new pylon on the plane that is designed to carry hypersonic vehicles into the air. The company's hypersonic test aircraft, known as Talon-A, should eventually be carried by the 14 foot pylon. Paul Allen, co-founder of Microsoft, died a year before Roc took off. The company's initial goal was to fly the plane to a high altitude from where it would launch the Orbital ATK rocket into space. Following Allen's death, the focus of the company was to develop, deploy, and fly hypersonic vehicles. The company resurrected its rocket-powered hypersonic vehicle concept last year. A larger hypersonic vehicle, dubbed Talon-Z, and a spaceplane called Black Ice were planned by the company.
The Pentagon's Missile Defense Agency awarded a contract to Stratolaunch to provide a testbed for developing defense strategies against hypersonic threats. Hypersonic vehicles are being used to mimic missile threats.
The U.S. government is worried about missile threats from China and Russia and has sought to increase its hypersonic weapons system. It is difficult for defenders to issue warnings prior to an attack because hypersonic vehicles are hard to detect. The test with Roc is an important step forward for the company.
Today's successful flight is validation of important hardware improvements to the carrier aircraft, according to a statement from the chief executive officer and president.
The carrier aircraft is about 250 tons and has a wingspan of over 400 feet. To me, it looks like two planes are in the air. The machine can carry up to 125 tons of fuel. The plane needs to move through 12,000 feet on the runway to get ready for takeoff. Hypersonic vehicles are expected to be tested by Stratolaunch in 2023.
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