Stratolaunch Conducts Successful Captive Carry Test Flight

The company said it is on track to perform its first hypersonic flight this year.

Monday, April 03, 2023 at 05:37 PM ET

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Stratolaunch's Roc launch aircraft takes off from Mojave Air and Space Port on its tenth flight and third captive carry with the Talon-A separation test vehicle, TA-1, on April 1, 2023. [Credit: Stratolaunch/Matt Hartman]

Key Takeaways:

Stratolaunch's Roc, the airplane with the world’s largest wingspan, successfully completed its 10th flight, a five-hour captive carry test with the Talon-A hypersonic testbed.
The reusable Talon-A vehicle is essential for testing Roc's sophisticated payload release system, which will launch autonomous hypersonic testbeds from high altitudes.
During this third captive carry flight, the team practiced separation profiles, confirmed telemetry, and gathered data to reduce risks for an upcoming full release test.

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Stratolaunch’s Roc, the airplane with the world’s largest wingspan, successfully conducted a captive carry test flight with the Talon-A separation vehicle Saturday.

The Talon-A is a reusable autonomous hypersonic testbed vehicle. It is critical to the mission of the 238-foot-long turbofan-powered Roc launch platform and will be used to test and validate the aircraft’s sophisticated payload release system.