Stratolaunch Successfully Tests Hypersonic Vehicle Prototype Talon for the First Time Using the World’s Largest Aircraft on October 28.
Video: SpaceFlightNews
The massive transport aircraft Roc, with a wingspan longer than a football field, lifted the Talon-A (TA-0) test prototype into the skies above the Mojave Desert in California. The flight aimed to demonstrate that Roc can carry a hypersonic vehicle designed for air launch.
“This is the first integrated flight test of the Talon launch system,” said Brandon Wood, Vice President of Programs and Operations at Stratolaunch. “We will advance to more complex and higher-performance flights for the hypersonic test environment.”
Stratolaunch’s Roc aircraft took off from Mojave Air and Space Port, carrying the 8.5-meter-long Talon test vehicle attached to a pylon in the center of its 117-meter wingspan. The flight lasted over 5 hours and reached a maximum altitude of 7,000 meters. The company reported that the test met all its objectives.
Roc aircraft during the test carrying the Talon-A (TA-0) prototype.
Stratolaunch was founded in 2011 by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen to launch rockets into space from the atmosphere. Allen passed away in 2018, just six months before Roc’s first test flight in April 2019. The company is developing a series of Talon vehicles to test hypersonic flight at speeds up to Mach 6 (7,408 km/h). The October 28 flight with TA-0 marks the eighth flight of the Roc aircraft.
If the drop test in December is successful, Stratolaunch plans to conduct the test flight of its first complete hypersonic vehicle, Talon-A TA-1, in 2023. The company is also developing two more fully reusable versions, TA-2 and TA-3. Stratolaunch aims to provide hypersonic flight services for government and commercial customers by 2023.
