World’s Largest Airplane Flies a Fifth Time, Moving Closer to Hypersonic Tests

The world’s largest airplane, Stratolaunch’s Roc, took off from California’s Mojave Air and Space Port (KMHV) Wednesday, flying for the first time with a new pylon crucial to the carrier aircraft’s success.

Thom Patterson

Wednesday, May 04, 2022 at 10:40 AM ET

Verified

A view of Stratolaunch’s one-of-a-kind airplane as it flew overhead Wednesday at California’s Mojave Air and Space Port. [Courtesy: Stratolaunch]

Key Takeaways:

Stratolaunch's *Roc*, the world's largest airplane, successfully completed its fifth and longest test flight, spanning nearly five hours.
The flight's main objective was the first test of a crucial pylon, which is essential for carrying and launching hypersonic test vehicles.
This pylon transforms *Roc* into a "flying launch pad," central to its business model of deploying autonomous, rocket-powered hypersonic testbeds like Talon-A.
Stratolaunch plans to accelerate test flight operations, with a Talon-A separation test later this year, and is already securing U.S. military contracts for hypersonic research and threat replication.

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The world’s largest airplane, Stratolaunch’s Roc, completed its fifth flight from California’s Mojave Air and Space Port (KMHV) Wednesday—the first test of a pylon crucial to the carrier aircraft’s success.

Under clear skies and calm winds, Roc’s six Pratt & Whitney PW4056 turbofans and 385-foot wings lifted the 500,000-pound, twin-fuselage jet above Runway 30 at about 7:40 a.m. PT. In its longest test flight so far–nearly five hours–the airplane touched down back at KMHV, at 12:37 p.m. PT.