{"id":50835,"date":"2023-12-11T20:08:53","date_gmt":"2023-12-11T20:08:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2023\/12\/11\/stratolaunchs-roc-set-to-launch-talon-a-on-first-hypersonic-flight\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T18:56:49","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T18:56:49","slug":"stratolaunchs-roc-set-to-launch-talon-a-on-first-hypersonic-flight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2023\/12\/11\/stratolaunchs-roc-set-to-launch-talon-a-on-first-hypersonic-flight\/","title":{"rendered":"Stratolaunch\u2019s Roc set to launch Talon-A on first hypersonic flight"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Editor\u2019s note: This story was updated to correct information about Roc\u2019s fuselage design.<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n

MOJAVE, Calif. \u2014 In Middle Eastern mythology, the Roc is a large bird, strong enough to carry an elephant in its talons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stratolaunch\u2019s massive Roc aircraft, named after the griffin-like creature, can carry as much as 500,000 pounds of payload, the equivalent of more than 33 large elephants. With a wingspan that stretches 385 feet, it\u2019s the widest airplane in operation \u2014 and it takes up an entire hangar at the company\u2019s manufacturing and test facilities at the Mojave Air and Space Port in California.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou actually have to get the aircraft out of the hangar to see the whole airplane,\u201d Stratolaunch\u2019s Senior Vice President for Engineering Aaron Cassebeer told C4ISRNET in an interview during a recent visit to the site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stratolaunch\u2019s early vision for Roc was as a space launch platform. The aircraft, comprised of two fuselages, would fly small rockets to high altitudes where they would then lift off into orbit. In 2019, the company changed course, refocusing its sights on a new mission: hypersonic flight testing<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The company is now preparing Roc to carry its Talon-A hypersonic test aircraft for its first hypersonic, or Mach 5, flight \u2014 potentially before the end of the year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

While Talon-A will descend into the ocean following that first flight, the company is eyeing a second mission in early 2024 during which the system will reach hypersonic speeds and land on a runway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The implications of a successful Talon-A test campaign are significant for the Defense Department\u2019s hypersonic efforts<\/a>, which are focused on developing and fielding high-speed weapons and defending against similar systems that China and Russia are building.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To get there, DoD is working to increase its testing rigor, setting a goal in 2022 to eventually conduct one flight each week<\/a>. Today, most major hypersonic programs fly just a few trials each year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A system like Talon-A could provide the department with a reusable, more affordable platform to test and validate high-speed components, subsystems and other technologies, according to Stratolaunch CEO Zachary Krevor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHow do you really demonstrate that your critical technologies, your instrumentation, your materials are actually working in the flight environment? You have to go fly,\u201d he told C4ISRNET in a Dec. 2 interview. \u201cThe significance of us and our first flight is really demonstrating [that] now there\u2019s an affordable hypersonic capability coming online that\u2019s going to generate a tremendous amount of new flight data that could be used all across the DoD community.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Return on investment<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

The company hasn\u2019t disclosed the cost of a single Talon-A flight, but Krevor said it\u2019s \u201can order of magnitude less\u201d than the average DoD hypersonic flight test, which sits around $100 million, according to the Congressional Research Service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Stratolaunch works toward achieving a once-a-month flight test cadence, he expects the department to very quickly see the impact of that reduced cost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe should be providing that [return on investment] back to the DOD by the end of next year or early 2025,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the lead up to its first hypersonic mission, Stratolaunch\u2019s engineers and flight crews have been preparing Roc and Talon-A through a series of ground and flight tests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In May, an early Talon-A vehicle, dubbed TA-0, conducted what\u2019s called a drop test where it was released from Roc and glided to a specific \u201caim point.\u201d In late November, the company conducted a taxi test during which Talon-A was mated to Roc\u2019s large pylon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Dec. 3, the pair of aircraft completed the first captive carry flight, during which Talon-A was fueled with the same propellants it will use for its first hypersonic flight. The high-speed aircraft did not separate from Roc, but flew for more than three hours, providing data about Talon-A\u2019s propulsion system and ensuring the telemetry systems on both aircraft were operating as expected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
A Talon-A test vehicle separates from its launch system. (Ethan Wagner\/Stratolaunch)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The company told C4ISRNET in a Dec. 7 statement that while they are still reviewing data from the flight, the aircraft appears to have performed as expected. While Stratolaunch is aiming for its initial hypersonic flight this year, spokeswoman Kate Squires said post-flight reviews and next steps could push that plan to next year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWith the end of the year fast approaching, we\u2019ll take the time required to provide our customers maximum value via our rigorous and methodical test process,\u201d Squires said. \u201cEnsuring a rigorous set of next steps may result in a pivot of our powered flight to 2024.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Talon-A production<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

As the company continues its data review and test preparations, it is working in parallel to move additional Talon-A vehicles through its production line. Next door to Roc\u2019s hangar sits the hypersonic aircraft\u2019s manufacturing facility where three more Talon-A aircraft sit in various stages of the assembly process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The next Talon-A in line, or TA-2, has most of its components installed. It recently started its functional testing phase, according to Cassebeer, which involves installing its power systems and making sure all of its subsystems are working as designed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The company has demonstrated the ability to manufacture three or four systems at one time, but Cassebeer said it\u2019s not clear how much its manufacturing cadence will increase once it is flying the Talon-A more regularly. That will depend, in part, on demand, but also on how well the reusable system is performing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe vehicles are reusable,\u201d he said. \u201cOnce you have a barn full of vehicles, [production] may not actually be your limiting factor. . . . We don\u2019t want to build so many vehicles that now they\u2019re just sitting there collecting dust.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Given the Defense Department\u2019s need for more flight test services, demand for a reusable Talon-A is already high. The company has a nearly full manifest for 2024 and is already on contract to support five test flights for the Navy Surface Warfare Center\u2019s Multiservice Advanced Capability Test Bed program or MACH-TB.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Its first flight will also be integrated with the Test Resource Management Center\u2019s Skyrange<\/a>, which uses uncrewed systems to track hypersonic vehicles in flight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stratolaunch recently completed the purchase of a second carrier aircraft to help accommodate Talon-A demand \u2014 a Boeing 747 owned by Virgin Orbit before the company declared bankruptcy in the spring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs we gain those flight contracts, as we fly and we show that we\u2019re successful, we expect that demand signal to continue to increase,\u201d Cassebeer said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Talon-A could provide DoD with a reusable, more affordable platform to test and validate high-speed components, subsystems and other 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