Hypersonic launch vehicles for the Queen of the Skies
January 10, 2025
Stratolaunch is to expand the range of its rocket-powered autonomous Talon-A testbed – designed to fly a variety of hypersonic flight profiles with customised payloads – using its modified ‘Spirit of Mojave’ 747, with flight tests scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2025.
Envisioned as a reusable, more cost-effective platform to test and validate hypersonic flight testing, the Talon-A has previously been carried aloft on the company’s proprietary Roc aircraft; possessing the widest wingspan in the world and able to carry as much as 500,000lbs of payload. However, “by enabling Talon-A launches from any airport capable of accommodating a 747, Stratolaunch is delivering on its commitment to provide its customers operational flexibility and global scalability,” explained Stratolaunch CEO and president Dr Zachary Krevor.
In 2023, Stratolaunch received approval to acquire the defunct Virgin Orbit’s modified legacy 747, a former Virgin Atlantic passenger aircraft that served as the first-stage launch platform for its satellite orbital launch vehicle. Stratolaunch’s named its newly-acquired aircraft the ‘Spirit of Mojave’ in tribute to the local aerospace community (and in part homage to Charles Lingberg’s Spirit of St Louis). Already featuring a mobile control centre for real-time mission operations, the 747 is currently undergoing additional modifications pending its first Talon-A mission later this year.
Explaining that the “747 has been a pillar of commercial air travel, providing the fuel range and reliability needed to reach any destination on the planet,” the aircraft also offers “more complex test options” than the Roc carrier, explained Stratolaunch. “Utilising comprehensive multi-launch scenarios offers the advantage of operational realism to achieve high fidelity data results”.
“We are pleased to partner with Stratolaunch to test our defensive architecture against these potential threats,” explained MDA director of systems, targets and countermeasures Michael Kryzak. Krevor concluded that “with this award, we reinforce our position as a key enabler of national security through cutting-edge hypersonic test capabilities, helping the United States maintain its leadership in an increasingly dynamic global threat environment”.
