Re: Hypersonic & Supersonic Aviation News and Discussions
Posted: Mon Mar 11, 2024 8:22 pm
Talon-A1 test vehicle makes near-hypersonic first powered flight
By Ben Coxworth
March 11, 2024
https://newatlas.com/aircraft/stratolau ... ed-flight/
By Ben Coxworth
March 11, 2024
https://newatlas.com/aircraft/stratolau ... ed-flight/
Stratolaunch Systems, the company behind the world's largest aircraft, is making headlines again. The firm's Talon-A1 hypersonic test aircraft has successfully completed its first powered flight, which took place last weekend in Mojave, California.
For readers who may be unfamiliar with Stratolaunch, the US aerospace company originally set out to develop a unique air-launch-to-orbit system.
In a nutshell, the idea was that instead of being launched straight from the ground, a client's spacecraft would be mounted beneath a special launch aircraft, flown to a very high altitude, then released. The spacecraft would subsequently fire up its rocket engines to complete its journey into Earth's orbit.
It was envisioned that the system would be a less expensive and more efficient alternative to the fuel-hungry, single-use rockets which are typically used to take spacecraft from a launchpad on the ground all the way up to outer space (fighting Earth's gravity the whole time).
Stratolaunch also stated that turnaround time between launches would be much shorter than is currently possible, allowing for a larger number of launches within a given time period. The gigantic twin-fuselage launch aircraft that the company designed for its system is called the Roc.