more at
http://www.space.com/37046-stratolau...t-rollout.html
Billionaire Paul Allen's private spaceflight company Stratolaunch has just
unveiled the world's biggest airplane: a massive carrier plane with a wingspan
longer than an entire football field.
The colossal Stratolaunch carrier plane rolled out of its hangar at the Mojave
Air and Space Port in Mojave, California, today (May 31) to undergo fueling
tests. It's the first public look at the full craft —which is designed to launch
rockets into orbit from the sky — since construction began.
"We're excited to announce that Stratolaunch aircraft has reached a major
milestone in its journey toward providing convenient, reliable, and routine
access to low-Earth orbit," Stratolaunch Systems Corp. CEO Jean Floyd said in a
statement. "This marks the completion of the initial aircraft-construction phase
and the beginning of the aircraft ground- and flight-testing phase."
The Stratolaunch carrier plane is designed to launch rockets into orbit from an
altitude of 30,000 feet (9,100 meters). Initially, the plane will carry a single
Pegasus XL rocket built by Orbital ATK, but the craft will eventually be able to
carry up to three of those boosters simultaneously, Floyd said.
Stratolaunch Systems has been quietly designing and building the rocket-toting
plane over the last few years.
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