- Who
- Stratolaunch
- What
- 117.35 metre(s)
- Where
- Vereinigte Staaten ()
- When
The largest aircraft is the Scaled Composites Model 351 Stratolaunch (aka "Roc"), operated by Stratolaunch Systems and built by Scaled Composites (both USA) which has a wingspan of 117.35 m (385 ft). This twin-fuselage heavy-lift aircraft made its first flight on 13 April 2019, taking off from the Mojave Air & Space Port in California, USA.
The Stratolaunch Systems Corporation was established in 2011 by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen (1953–2018), with the aim of creating a carrier aircraft capable of serving as a high-altitude launch platform for orbital rockets. This approach removes the need for the rocket to perform the first stage of the ascent (which involves passing through the thick air of the lower atmosphere) and in theory would make rocket launches cheaper and more efficient.
The Stratolaunch is powered by six Pratt and Whitney PW4056 engines, each generating 56,750 pounds-force (252 kN), that were salvaged from two retired Boeing 747s. The aircraft can carry a payload of up to 226,796 kg (500,000 lb).
