The largest aircraft in history
According to the blog bmpdThe 31 of May 2017 in Mojave, California, was used to roll out almost completed construction of the Stratolaunch Model 351 carrier aircraft (also sometimes referred to as “Roc”, in fact, the official name is not currently assigned) of the Stratolaunch air launch system, created by the American company Stratolaunch Systems, which is part of the Vulcan Aerospace Corporation.
The Stratolaunch Model 351 two-body aircraft is the largest aircraft in stories. Its wing span is 117 m, the length of the machine is 73 m, the maximum take-off weight is 590 tons, the weight of the suspended payload is 230 tons. As a result, the plane shifted the wing span to the second position of the Soviet An-225 "Mriya" (88,4 m), which at the same time retains an advantage in length (84 m) and maximum take-off weight (640 tons).
The plane should be lifted into the air by 6 Pratt & Whitney PW4056 by-pass turbojet engines with a thrust of 25 tons, taken from two decommissioned Boeing 747-400 airliners. The landing gear of the aircraft is 28-wheeled, the take-off distance with full load should be calculated to be 3800 m. The maximum flight range with full load will not exceed 3700 km.
The machine is designed to be used as a carrier for the aerospace system Stratolaunch, created by the American company Stratolaunch Systems. The aircraft is designed to launch space launch vehicles using the "air launch" method, which will be carried out from a height of approximately 10500 m. The launch vehicle should be suspended under the central part of the wing between the fuselage. During the design and construction, the SpaceX Falcon 9 Air and Orbital ATK Pegasus II launch vehicles were successively replaced as payload variants, and now the Orbital ATK Pegasus XL, a long-known light launch vehicle used for "airborne starts from the "normal" aircraft in the US from 1990 (launch weight 23,2 tons, payload weight 443 kg), and for which there was no need to create such a giant carrier - although it is possible to carry and launch from it in one flight up to three missiles - carry Lei Pegasus XL. In this regard, the future of Stratolaunch is not yet quite definite.
The project was announced in December 2011. The construction of the aircraft was carried out in a giant hangar specially built for this in 2012 year in Mojave. The program is implemented with a time lag of about two years. At the moment, the beginning of flight tests of the aircraft carrier is expected at the end of 2017, the first demonstration space launch from it - in 2019. Start of commercial launches will be possible in this case from the 2020 year.
The Stratolaunch Model 351 two-body aircraft is the largest aircraft in stories. Its wing span is 117 m, the length of the machine is 73 m, the maximum take-off weight is 590 tons, the weight of the suspended payload is 230 tons. As a result, the plane shifted the wing span to the second position of the Soviet An-225 "Mriya" (88,4 m), which at the same time retains an advantage in length (84 m) and maximum take-off weight (640 tons).
The plane should be lifted into the air by 6 Pratt & Whitney PW4056 by-pass turbojet engines with a thrust of 25 tons, taken from two decommissioned Boeing 747-400 airliners. The landing gear of the aircraft is 28-wheeled, the take-off distance with full load should be calculated to be 3800 m. The maximum flight range with full load will not exceed 3700 km.
The machine is designed to be used as a carrier for the aerospace system Stratolaunch, created by the American company Stratolaunch Systems. The aircraft is designed to launch space launch vehicles using the "air launch" method, which will be carried out from a height of approximately 10500 m. The launch vehicle should be suspended under the central part of the wing between the fuselage. During the design and construction, the SpaceX Falcon 9 Air and Orbital ATK Pegasus II launch vehicles were successively replaced as payload variants, and now the Orbital ATK Pegasus XL, a long-known light launch vehicle used for "airborne starts from the "normal" aircraft in the US from 1990 (launch weight 23,2 tons, payload weight 443 kg), and for which there was no need to create such a giant carrier - although it is possible to carry and launch from it in one flight up to three missiles - carry Lei Pegasus XL. In this regard, the future of Stratolaunch is not yet quite definite.
The project was announced in December 2011. The construction of the aircraft was carried out in a giant hangar specially built for this in 2012 year in Mojave. The program is implemented with a time lag of about two years. At the moment, the beginning of flight tests of the aircraft carrier is expected at the end of 2017, the first demonstration space launch from it - in 2019. Start of commercial launches will be possible in this case from the 2020 year.
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