Military and Strategic Journal
Issued by the Directorate of Morale Guidance at the General Command of the Armed Forces
United Arab Emirates
Founded in August 1971

2019-05-01

Stratolaunch Flies High

Scaled Composites, LLC, made aviation history recently with the flight of one of the largest wingspan aircraft, the Stratolaunch. During this initial flight, the team tested out specific handling qualities to validate the design.
 
Scaled Composites has been working with Stratolaunch Systems Corporation since 2011, designing, building, and testing the world’s largest composite aircraft. 
 
With a dual fuselage design and wingspan reportedly greater than the length of an American football field, the plane, piloted by Evan Thomas and Chris Guarente, flew for 149 minutes, reaching a maximum speed of 165 Knots Indicated Air Speed (KIAS) before landing safely.
 
The plane flew for 2.5 hours over the Mojave Desert at altitudes up to 17,000 feet. As part of the initial flight, the pilots evaluated aircraft performance and handling qualities before landing successfully back at the Mojave Air and Space Port.
 
Stratolaunch’s mission was developing an air launch platform to make access to space more convenient, reliable, and routine. 
“ The airplane flew as predicted. It was a very smooth flight and the team had a lot of fun,” said test pilot Evan Thomas. “This flight really is a tribute to the hard work of all of the men and women who have worked tirelessly over the years making this programme a reality.”
 
“The Scaled team excels at tackling the hardest problems in aviation. We have test flown an average of one new aircraft type per year over our 37-year history,” said Cory Bird, president of Scaled Composites. “Together with Stratolaunch, we have reached another aviation first by flying the world’s largest all‐composite aircraft and moving closer to increasing the accessibility of space launch.” 
 
“Northrop Grumman’s Scaled Composites team has once again set a new standard in aviation with the first flight of the Stratolaunch aircraft. Scaled’s ability to design, build and test is second to none,” said Scott Winship, sector vice president, Aerospace Systems, Northrop Grumman Corporation.
 
“What a fantastic first flight,” said Jean Floyd, CEO of Stratolaunch. “The flight furthers our mission to provide a flexible alternative to ground launched systems. We are incredibly proud of the Stratolaunch team, the flight crew, our partners at Northrop Grumman’s Scaled Composites and the Mojave Air and Space Port.”
 
The test team conducted standard aircraft testing exercises. Initial results from the test points include:
• Performed a variety of flight control manoeuvres to calibrate speed and test flight control systems, including roll doublets, yawing manoeuvres, pushovers and pull-ups, and steady heading side slips.
• Conducted simulated landing approach exercises at a max altitude of 15,000 feet mean sea level.
 
New Way to Reach Space
As satellites get smaller and easier to build, the number of organisations that can take advantage of space is growing exponentially. The problem is: advancements in launch capabilities haven’t kept up — and satellites are stuck on the ground as a result.
 
The Stratolaunch aircraft is a mobile launch platform that will enable airline-style access to space that is convenient, affordable and routine. The reinforced centre wing can support multiple launch vehicles, weighing up to a total of 500,000 pounds.
 
Stratolaunch is ushering in a brand-new way to reach space. What was once the final frontier will now be as accessible as a commercial flight thanks to the company’s air-launch capabilities and aircraft and launch vehicle designs.
 
The Stratolaunch aircraft, Scaled Model 351, is built to deliver payloads into space at multiple orbits and inclinations during one mission. 
The large aircraft project has been an idea Burt Rutan, founder of Scaled Composites and an American aerospace engineer, has played with for over 20 years. Various designs have been explored as customer interest came and went. Prior to the final contract, Scaled worked to validate fabrication costs by building demonstration pieces to lower the cost of pounds of material labour to man hour.

This factor drove the overarching design of the aircraft – flat‐sided fuselages with a mostly straight wing. Many world records are expected to be claimed once the vehicle is validated. The top two record claims are reportedly the world’s largest aircraft by wingspan, and the world’s largest all-composite vehicle.
 
Stratolaunch takes off and lands from a runway just like any other aircraft. Once it reaches a cruising altitude of 35,000 ft (10,668 m), one or more launch vehicles are released, allowing for rapid constellation deployment to different inclinations. As the launch vehicles ascend into orbit, the Stratolaunch plane heads back to the runway to reload for its next mission.
 
By taking off from a runway, Stratolaunch aircraft can circumvent bad weather, air traffic and other variables that cause delays with traditional ground launches. So, the aircraft is able to launch more quickly and more often. The innovative twin fuselage carrier aircraft was engineered to enable deployments of a range of launch vehicle shapes and mass-classes.
 
Reference Text/Photo:
 

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