lspencer534
06-02-2017, 12:48pm
Billionaire Paul Allen's private spaceflight company Stratolaunch has just unveiled the world's biggest airplane: a massive carrier plane with a wingspan longer than an entire football field.
The Stratolaunch carrier plane is designed to launch rockets into orbit from an altitude of 30,000 feet. Initially, the plane will carry a single Pegasus XL rocket built by Orbital ATK, but the craft will eventually be able to carry up to three of those boosters simultaneously.
The Stratolaunch plane is a twin-boom aircraft with a wingspan of 385 feet , a length of 238 feet, and a tail height of 50 feet. The massive plane weighs 550,000 lbs. by itself and a mind-boggling 1.3 million lbs. when fully loaded with a rocket payload. It takes six Pratt & Whitney PW4056 jet engines to power the monster jet.
World’s biggest aeroplane revealed: Meet the "Stratolaunch" - YouTube
Paul Allen's Ginormous Stratolaunch Carrier Plane Rolls Out for 1st Time (http://www.space.com/37046-stratolaunch-worlds-largest-airplane-first-rollout.html?utm_content=bufferb8ecc&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook)
The Stratolaunch carrier plane is designed to launch rockets into orbit from an altitude of 30,000 feet. Initially, the plane will carry a single Pegasus XL rocket built by Orbital ATK, but the craft will eventually be able to carry up to three of those boosters simultaneously.
The Stratolaunch plane is a twin-boom aircraft with a wingspan of 385 feet , a length of 238 feet, and a tail height of 50 feet. The massive plane weighs 550,000 lbs. by itself and a mind-boggling 1.3 million lbs. when fully loaded with a rocket payload. It takes six Pratt & Whitney PW4056 jet engines to power the monster jet.
World’s biggest aeroplane revealed: Meet the "Stratolaunch" - YouTube
Paul Allen's Ginormous Stratolaunch Carrier Plane Rolls Out for 1st Time (http://www.space.com/37046-stratolaunch-worlds-largest-airplane-first-rollout.html?utm_content=bufferb8ecc&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook)