Stratolaunch Achieves Historic First Powered Flight of Hypersonic Test Vehicle TA-1

Written by Copernical Team Thursday, 14 March 2024 17:23

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Los Angeles CA (SPX) Mar 12, 2024

Stratolaunch, LLC, marked a significant achievement on March 9, with the successful completion of the first powered flight of its Talon-A test vehicle, TA-1. This groundbreaking event signifies a crucial advancement in the United States' efforts to develop a privately funded, reusable hypersonic test platform. The maiden flight's objectives encompassed ensuring a safe air-launch release, i

Stratolaunch Achieves Historic First Powered Flight of Hypersonic Test Vehicle TA-1
by Clarence Oxford
Los Angeles CA (SPX) Mar 12, 2024

Stratolaunch, LLC, marked a significant achievement on March 9, with the successful completion of the first powered flight of its Talon-A test vehicle, TA-1. This groundbreaking event signifies a crucial advancement in the United States' efforts to develop a privately funded, reusable hypersonic test platform.

The maiden flight's objectives encompassed ensuring a safe air-launch release, initiating engine ignition, achieving acceleration and a sustained climb, and concluding with a controlled water landing.

Dr. Zachary Krevor, President and CEO of Stratolaunch, expressed immense pride in the team's resilience leading to this success. "Today was a tremendous day for Stratolaunch. The team's technical expertise and professionalism have directly contributed to this achievement," Dr. Krevor stated.

Although specific details about the altitude and speed attained by TA-1 remain confidential due to proprietary agreements, Dr. Krevor disclosed, "In achieving our flight and customer objectives, TA-1 attained high supersonic speeds nearing Mach 5 and provided valuable data, offering substantial benefits to our clients."

The test flight aimed to mitigate risks ahead of TA-2's inaugural reusable mission and to uphold Stratolaunch's dedication to delivering outstanding value to its clients. "We eagerly anticipate analyzing today's test data to guide our future endeavors towards TA-2's upcoming flight later this year," Dr. Krevor added.

Parallel to the TA-1 trials, Stratolaunch is advancing the construction of TA-3, its next fully reusable vehicle within the Talon-A series, and commencing modifications to its additional launch vehicle, the Spirit of Mojave, a modified Boeing 747-400.