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It was a day that had been preparing for years and would have made Paul Allen proud. His company Stratolaunch Systems made its first test flight Saturday at the Mojave Air and Space Port.
The Seattle-based company wants to make spaceflight as easy as the airport, and has developed the ideal strategy for doing so. It is the largest all-composite aircraft ever created, with a dual-fuselage design and a longer wingspan than a football field.
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The goal is to carry the rockets into the stratosphere, then the rocket engines would ignite and carry the cargo the rest of the journey into space.
This inaugural trip – termed a success – is dedicated to former Microsoft CEO Paul Allen. He created society hoping that scientific research in space would bring innovative solutions to the problems of the planet.
"What a fantastic first flight," said Jean Floyd, CEO of Stratolaunch. "Today's flight continues our mission to provide a flexible alternative to ground-based systems. We are extremely proud of the Stratolaunch team, today's crew, our Northrup Grumman Scaled Composites partners and the Mojave air and space port. "
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Reaching 189 miles at the time, the aircraft flew over the Mojave Desert at 17,000 feet altitude for two and a half hours and conducted a series of tests before landing successfully. .
"We all know that Paul would have been proud to see the historic success of today," said Jody Allen, chairman of the board of directors of Vulcan Inc. and trustee of the Paul G. Allen Trust. . "The aircraft is a remarkable technical achievement and we congratulate everyone involved."
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