Stratolaunch built and operates the world’s largest airplane by wingspan. It is the twin-fuselage Roc, which serves as an air-launch platform for reusable hypersonic vehicles. Their primary focus is on developing, launching, and repeatedly flying the Talon-A family of autonomous, rocket-powered hypersonic testbeds, as well as advancing larger and more ambitious vehicles for commercial and defense applications.
The Roc can carry up to three hypersonic vehicles simultaneously and release them at altitude for testing, which enables flexibility in mission profiles and global coverage.
Flight Milestones (2025 and Beyond)
TA-1: First powered hypersonic flight (Mach 5+) and successful data-gathering mission, released from Roc (2024 done)
TA-2: First fully reusable version; exceeded Mach 5 in multiple Pentagon-backed flight tests (done two months ago 2025); confirmed successful recovery and rapid re-flight turnaround for repeat testing
TA-3: Additional reusable vehicle under assembly and test, intended to expand test availability and reliability. TA-3/TA-4: In development/production; TA-3 first flight planned for late 2025.
A-Z: Larger hypersonic vehicle in planning, projected to reach speeds up to Mach 10; will leverage operational experience from the Talon-A.
Black Ice: Longer-term, fully reusable spaceplane concept for orbital research and cargo return, with a future crewed variant envisaged.
They are fully booked through 2025 and have bookings into 2026 for DoD/commercial tests.
They want to scale up to 24 missions/year with multiple Talon variants and carriers and get to routine weekly hypersonic tests for DoD.
Stratolaunch Roc Carrier Aircraft – Specifications
Wingspan: 385 ft (117 m), the largest ever built
Length: 238 ft (73 m)
Height: 50 ft (15 m)
Empty weight: 500,000 lb (226,800 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 1,300,000 lb (589,700 kg)
Payload capacity: Up to 550,000 lb (250,000 kg)
Configuration: Twin fuselage, each pressurized, cockpit in the right fuselage only
Power: 6 × Pratt & Whitney PW4056 turbofans (56,750 lbf thrust each)
Landing gear: 28 wheels
Range: Up to 2,500 nmi ferry; 1,000 nmi mission radius with payload
Talon-A Reusable Hypersonic Test Vehicle – Specifications
Length: 28 ft (8.5 m)
Wingspan: 11.3–14 ft (3.4–4.3 m)
Launch weight: ~6,000–6,500 lb (2,700–2,950 kg)
Propulsion: Ursa Major Hadley liquid engine, 5,000 lbf thrust (liquid oxygen/kerosene, staged combustion)
Operational speed: Up to Mach 6 (hypersonic, confirmed above Mach 5 in test flights)
Guidance: Autonomous, instrumented testbed
Landing: Glides for autonomous, horizontal runway landing; designed for reuse
Payload: Customizable internal volumes and instrumentation for research or defense testing
Brian Wang is a Futurist Thought Leader and a popular Science blogger with 1 million readers per month. His blog Nextbigfuture.com is ranked #1 Science News Blog. It covers many disruptive technology and trends including Space, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Medicine, Anti-aging Biotechnology, and Nanotechnology.
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