Stratolaunch will continue testing the longest-winged aircraft in September
Stratolaunch has announced that it intends to resume flight testing of the Model 351, the longest-winged aircraft in the world, in September this year.
Stratolaunch successfully completed the first flight of its Model 351 in April last year. A few months later, however, the aircraft project ran into financial difficulties - and it was put up for sale.
Stratolaunch will resume flight tests of the aircraft, however, changing the concept a bit: if previously the aircraft was planned to be used as an air platform for launching a Pegasus XL rocket, now they are going to use it as a carrier for atmospheric and suborbital hypersonic devices (which devices are still unclear; it is indicated that they can be of their own and third-party development).
The resumption of flight tests was announced by Stratolaunch Vice President Mark Bitterman (Mark Bitterman. He indicated that the company plans to start test flights in September this year; it is planned that it will carry out at least one flight per month.
The Stratolaunch Model 351 is the longest-flying aircraft in the world: the wing of the device, which has a two-body structure, is 117.3 meters in length.
Stratolaunch successfully completed the first flight of its Model 351 in April last year. A few months later, however, the aircraft project ran into financial difficulties - and it was put up for sale.
Stratolaunch will resume flight tests of the aircraft, however, changing the concept a bit: if previously the aircraft was planned to be used as an air platform for launching a Pegasus XL rocket, now they are going to use it as a carrier for atmospheric and suborbital hypersonic devices (which devices are still unclear; it is indicated that they can be of their own and third-party development).
The resumption of flight tests was announced by Stratolaunch Vice President Mark Bitterman (Mark Bitterman. He indicated that the company plans to start test flights in September this year; it is planned that it will carry out at least one flight per month.
The Stratolaunch Model 351 is the longest-flying aircraft in the world: the wing of the device, which has a two-body structure, is 117.3 meters in length.
