Stratolaunch Takes Flight!
There are very few aeroplanes in the world that require six jet engines to get them into the air. Well, with the probable exception of military planes designed to get tanks and troops from A-B. Even taking them into consideration, however, there is no plane quite as huge as the Stratolaunch.
Representing the largest aircraft ever constructed, the plane has set a new record by successfully taking flight in America!
How Big Is It?
With a 385 foot wingspan, it is nearly twice the width of a Boeing 747. Successfully taking off from the Mojave Air and Space Port the plane flew for around 150 minutes achieving a top speed of 175mph and altitude of 15,000 feet.
Test pilot Evan Thomas said: “The flight itself was smooth, which is exactly what you want a first flight to be.”
The world’s largest airplane takes flight! @Stratolaunch @NASASpaceflight #stratolaunch pic.twitter.com/jmLs3mpztn
— Jack Beyer (@thejackbeyer) April 13, 2019
What Is it Designed For?
The aeroplane has been designed with the intention of providing orbital flights. While not specifically designed to achieve that itself, the intention is that it can be used to carry rockets into the upper atmosphere. With them being higher, they can be smaller and achieve a payload orbit much more easily than a traditional rocket launch from the ground.
Remember the Shagohod from Metal Gear Solid 3?… Same idea basically!
While this represents just the first of many test flights to be taken, this could represent a very interesting prospect for future space and rocket development!
If you want to learn more about the project, you can visit the official website via the link here!
What do you think? Is this plane bigger than you expected? In addition, what impact do you think this could have? – Let us know in the comments!
