Roc landed Sunday at California’s Mojave Air & Space Port after a test flight that lasted nearly four and a half hours. [Courtesy: Stratolaunch]
Key Takeaways:
Stratolaunch’s Roc, the world’s largest airplane, successfully completed its third and most productive test flight in over eight months, expanding its proven flight envelope with new records for altitude and speed.
A significant achievement during the 4-hour, 23-minute mission was the first-ever in-flight retraction and extension of one of Roc's main landing gear, validating improvements to its systems.
The Roc's primary mission is to serve as an air-launch platform for reusable hypersonic test vehicles, such as the Talon-A, with commercial operations anticipated to begin later this year.
Stratolaunch’s Roc—the biggest airplane in the world—returned to the sky Sunday, completing its first test flight in more than eight months.
The four-hour and 23-minutemission expanded Roc’s proven test envelope, including a higher altitude, as well as retracting and extending one of Roc’s main landing gear in flight for the first time.
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Thom is a former senior editor for FLYING. Previously, his freelance reporting appeared in aviation industry magazines. Thom also spent three decades as a TV and digital journalist at CNN’s bureaus in Washington and Atlanta, eventually specializing in aviation. He has reported from air shows in Oshkosh, Farnborough and Paris. Follow Thom on Twitter @thompatterson.
