Huge Stratolaunch aircraft rolled out for first time
LOS ANGELES — Billionaire Paul G. Allen’s Stratolaunch, a massive aircraft designed to launch rockets into space from high altitude, has been rolled out of its hangar for the first time in preparation for testing.
Here are things to know about the program that has been underway since 2011:
Gigantic
The Stratolaunch aircraft is enormous, with a wingspan totaling 385 feet, longer than the wingspan of any other aircraft and greater than the length of an American football field.
Its twin fuselages stretch 238 feet.
By comparison, the H-4 flying boat — nicknamed Spruce Goose and built by Howard Hughes in the 1940s — has a 320-foot wingspan and is just under 219 feet long.
Among commonly seen aircraft, the double-decker Airbus A380’s wings span 262 feet.
Weight and power
The Stratolaunch aircraft weighs 500,000 pounds empty, can carry 250,000 pounds of fuel, and with payload can take off at a maximum weight of 1.3 million pounds
It is powered by six engines of the same type used by Boeing 747s.
Air launch
On launch missions, Stratolaunch will carry as many as three rockets attached to the center of the wing between the two fuselages. The rockets will be released, ignite their engines and carry small satellites weighing up to 1,000 pounds to low Earth orbit.
Under a deal announced last year, Stratolaunch will use Pegasus XL winged rockets provided by Orbital ATK of Dulles, Va.
According to Stratolaunch, the advantages of its system include being able to use numerous airports and avoid the limitations of fixed launch sites which can be impacted by weather, air traffic and ship traffic on ocean ranges.