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- The world’s biggest plane recently took off from the Mojave Desert.
- Videos show the Stratolaunch Roc successfully completing its first drop test.
- The Roc is massive: its take-off weight numbers at over 1.3 million pounds.
A video shows the biggest plane in the world taking off and cruising into the sky — taking it one step closer to hypersonic flight.
The Stratolaunch Roc successfully completed its first drop test — which tested the plane’s ability to release an autonomous launch vehicle in the air — in Mojave Desert on Sunday, according to the company’s press release.
The video was posted by Stratolaunch on Twitter, showing the massive plane, which has a take-off weight of 1.3 million pounds, taking off from the runway. Stratolaunch’s vehicle Talon-A could be seen attached to the plane.
The Roc is a mothership aircraft and is designed to carry rockets and vehicles.
—Stratolaunch (@Stratolaunch) May 13, 2023
The aircraft has a wingspan of around 385 feet — dwarfing even the largest of commercial aircrafts like the Airbus A380, whose wingspan measures some 260 feet.
In another video posted by Stratolaunch on Twitter, the Roc was shown landing flawlessly on the runway. The Talon-A vehicle was also no longer attached to the plane.
—Stratolaunch (@Stratolaunch) May 13, 2023
Stratolaunch expects the Roc to take its first hypersonic to take place in late fall this year, Stratolaunch’s CEO Zachary Krevor said, as quoted by Space.com.
“Our hardware and data collection systems performed as anticipated, and we now stand at the precipice of achieving hypersonic flight,” Krevor said in Stratolaunch’s press release. “Today’s test was exceptional,” he added.
Stratolaunch did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment.
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