The prototype of the Talon hypersonic vehicle was flown for the first time on Friday.
The test vehicle was carried into the sky above California's Mojave Desert on a flight that proved the huge plane can carry hypersonic vehicles.
The world's largest plane is being tested.
Brandon Wood, vice president of programs and operations, told reporters in a Friday teleconference that the first integrated flight test of the Talon launch system was taking place. We will progress from here to more complicated and more productive flights.
A prototype vehicle attached to a pylon at the center of a giant plane's wings was taken off from the Mojave Air and Space Port. The test lasted just over five hours and reached a maximum altitude of 23,000 feet.
The two vehicles lifted off the runway and into the sky, and I was ecstatic to see them together. Our flight products are operating together, which is a significant step towards regular and re-usable hypersonic flight.
The first image of two.
Paul Allen started the company to launch rockets into space. Six months before the first test flight, Allen passed away. The air-launch platform for hypersonic research was bought by the company.
The company is developing a series of Talon vehicles as testbeds for hypersonic flights that can reach speeds of up to Mach 6. The first flight with a vehicle was the eighth flight of the carrier plane.
The first hypersonic vehicle, the Talon-ATA-1, will be tested in 2023 if December's test is a success. The two follow-on hypersonic craft,TA-2 andTA-3, are being built.
The company expects to deliver hypersonic flight services to government and commercial customers in the next few years.
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