The world's largest Stratolaunch Roc aircraft has made its maiden flight with a fuelled Talon-A hypersonic glider
Roc, the world's largest aircraft, took to the skies for the first time alongside a fully fuelled Talon-A hypersonic aircraft. Stratolaunch wants to use the combination to provide hypersonic testing services.
Here's What We Know
The Roc is a twin-fuselage aircraft. It has wingspan of 117 metres. The flight was the 12th flight for it. Its duration was 3 hours and 22 minutes. A special pylon was used to install the Talon-A hypersonic airframe.
Today we completed a captive carry flight with the first powered Talon-A hypersonic vehicle. The completion of this test represents a significant step towards our first powered flight of TA-1. Read more: https://t.co/e1PPDx73HM #LetsRoc #flighttest pic.twitter.com/gp2NqkF83k
- Stratolaunch (@Stratolaunch) December 3, 2023
Talon-A was not scheduled to fly independently as part of the past test. The hypersonic aircraft is equipped with liquid propulsion engines. In the future, it will separate from the aircraft at an altitude of 10 kilometres and will be able to reach speeds of more than Mach 5 (6174 km/h).
Talon-A has several compartments where hypersonic missiles and sensors can be installed. Stratolaunch has already agreed on five hypersonic technology tests, including with the US Department of Defence.
Roc's test flight with Talon-A took place this past weekend. Stratolaunch will now analyse the data and make a decision regarding the launch of a hypersonic airframe. By the way, in the first half of 2023, the company dropped Talon-A with its engines disabled.
Source: space
