The Largest Aircraft Ever?

Wednesday, December 14, 2011 at 07:18 PM ET

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Key Takeaways:

Paul Allen and Burt Rutan's new space tourism company is designing the largest aircraft ever, intended to deliver unmanned payloads and manned spacecraft to orbit.
This colossal aircraft will be powered by six 747 engines and feature a wingspan of 385 feet, with a gross weight of 1.2 million pounds.
Its capabilities include delivering 13,500 pounds to low Earth orbit with a target orbital mission range of 1,300 nautical miles, requiring a 12,000-foot runway for operations.

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Paul Allen and Burt Rutan set out to build the largest aircraft ever as part of their new space tourism company. Here’s a look at the design plan.

According to the company, the aircraft would be capable of delivering unmanned payloads and manned spacecraft to orbit.

The airplane would be powered by six 747 engines.

The aircraft’s wingspan would reach 385 feet, greater than the length of a football field.

The airplane’s gross weight would come in at 1.2 million pounds.

The airplane’s target orbital mission range is set at 1,300 nautical miles.

For alternative cargo transport missions, the airplane has a target range of 9,200 miles.

The company says the new aircraft would be capable of delivering 13,500 pounds to low Earth orbit.

The aircraft would require a runway 12,000 feet long to take off or land.

For more, check out our recent feature on the aircraft and the company behind it.

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