Stratolaunch is shifting its focus to its 747 launch platform after successful repeat flights of the first autonomous, fully reusable hypersonic test aircraft.
Northrop Grumman says an advanced inertial navigation device that could pave the way for precise hypersonic flight guidance in GPS-denied environments has flown successfully on Stratolaunch’s recently confirmed Talon-A Mach 5-plus test flights.
The launch and recovery of TA-2, if confirmed, marks a major milestone for Stratolaunch’s plan to develop the Talon into a reusable hypersonic test system.
The planned test of the second Talon TA-2 flight was scrubbed because winds at the planned recovery site at Vandenberg Space Force Base were out of limits.
Stratolaunch says it is receiving its final rounds of approvals to conduct its first reusable test flight of the Talon A hypersonic testbed by Dec. 31.
Stratolaunch says a series of envelope expansion flights have allowed its Roc carrier aircraft to launch the Talon-A hypersonic test vehicle from 35,000 ft.
Stratolaunch conducted the first powered flight of its Talon TA-1 test vehicle, a key step toward supporting regular and reusable hypersonic test capability.
The Boeing 747-400 will work in conjunction with Stratolaunch’s Roc carrier aircraft to conduct air launches for hypersonic tests in multiple U.S. locations.
Hypersonic test company Stratolaunch has mated the first full rocket-configured Talon vehicle to the Roc carrier aircraft and is poised to begin a series of ground and flight tests aimed at attempting the first Mach 5 test before year’s end.
A new U.S. effort to prove technology for reusable hypersonic flight is inching forward as government scientists seek information on industry-funded projects.
