Can the Largest Airplane Ever Built Reduce the Cost of Space Launches?

A rendering of the Stratolaunch Carrier Aircraft taking to the skies. (Image courtesy of Vulcan Aerospace.)

Space launches may soon get easier and cheaper. Aerospace and defense company Orbital ATK and space access provider Vulcan Aerospace recently announced a partnership to offer competitive space launches. The two companies will collaborate on Vulcan’s Stratolaunch platform, designed to take satellite payloads into low earth orbit (LEO).

The Stratolaunch Carrier Aircraft

Stratolaunch presents a unique take on the current model of orbital launch, with the goal of making space access more flexible and cost-effective for a variety of missions and payloads.

The Stratolaunch Carrier Aircraft looks like two airplanes fused together and is made with lightweight composite materials to be light, strong and fuel efficient.

Oh, and it’s also gargantuan.

When complete, the aircraft will have a wingspan of 385 feet–that’s more than the length of a football field, and well above the record for the largest wingspan of any airplane ever built.

The Stratolaunch Carrier Aircraft will also have the power necessary for space launches, with a maximum takeoff weight of 1.3 million lbs. This is achieved through a total of six Boeing 747 (PW4056) engines, three on each of the outer wings. The central wing, joining the two fuselages, serves as an attachment point for payloads over 500,000 lbs.

An illustration of the Stratolaunch Carrier Aircraft and some of its specifications. (Image courtesy of Vulcan Aerospace.)

Orbital ATK will initially contribute to the Stratolaunch Carrier Aircraft by providing multiple Pegasus XL air-launch vehicles for use with the aircraft. These will allow small satellites weighing up to 1000 lbs (454 kg) to be launched into LEO. Pegasus has a proven record of launching satellites into orbit, placing more than 80 satellites over 42 space launch missions.

The Stratolaunch Carrier Aircraft is currently being constructed by aerospace company Scaled Composites, and while Vulcan Aerospace has stated that it is “nearing completion,” there’s no firm delivery date for the aircraft. Regardless, both Orbital ATK and Vulcan Aerospace are excited about their partnership, and believe that together they’ll be able to create a flexible and cost-effective space launch solution.

“We are energized by this evolved partnership with Orbital ATK,” said Stratolaunch CEO Jean Floyd. “Orbital ATK is the world’s most experienced air-launch service provider, and we are proud to leverage that expertise and progressive approach in pursuit of our shared goal of convenient and affordable commercial access to low Earth orbit.”

For more about the commercial space market, read Firefly Space Systems Completes Successful Mission Duty Cycle Tests.