In the United States made the first flight of an experimental aircraft Stratolaunch Model 351, developed by Stratolaunch Systems. The car was in the air for about two and a half hours. The plane reached an altitude of 5.1 km and reached a speed of 304 km / h. The flight took place over the Mojave Desert (California).
In terms of its weight and size characteristics, the Stratolaunch is considered to be the world's largest aircraft. The mass of the car is 250 tons (with a full load - 590 tons), the length of the wings - 117 m. Previously, the Soviet transport aircraft An-225 “Mriya” held the palm. Mass offspring OKB them. OK. Antonov is 250 tons, carrying capacity - 170 tons, wingspan - 88.4 m.
Nevertheless, before the American and Soviet aircraft are completely different tasks. Stratolaunch is an experienced platform for launching space rockets into space. In turn, the An-225 was created to transport the reusable Buran spacecraft and heavy oversized cargo.
Stratolaunch is made according to the two-fuselage monoplane scheme, which is atypical for world aviation. In fact, the plane consists of two buildings, connected by one giant wing. The space between them will be filled with a multistage accelerator (fairing) for launching launch vehicles. Stratolaunch is equipped with 28 landing gear wheels and six PW4056 engines, which are mounted on wide-body passenger aircraft Boeing 747.
- Engines Stratolaunch Model 351
- © @Stratolaunch
“By geometry, it is really the largest aircraft in the world. Wing length exceeds the size of a football field. True, the length of the fuselage is quite an ordinary aircraft. The scheme that was chosen by the Americans is not really new and was used as early as the 1930s. It was required in order to place a special fairing with an accelerating unit under the wing between the fuselages, ”said the Honored Pilot of the Russian Federation, Major General Retired Vladimir Popov.
In the footsteps of Richard Branson
Development of the Stratolaunch Model 351 began in 2011. The project was based on the concept of "air start". It allows launching satellites and spacecraft into orbit without using spaceports.
Virgin Galactic British billionaire Richard Branson and the American corporation Scaled Composites are considered to be pioneers in this area. In the second half of the 2000s, they created the White Knight Two two-body carrier aircraft, designed to launch the suborbital reusable spacecraft SpaceShipOne (now VSS Unity).
The first flight of the White Knight Two took place on December 21, 2008. However, the commercial operation of the aircraft has not yet begun. Engineers had to refine the machine control system. In addition, the engine for VSS Unity was not created. The first flight with the power unit turned on was only April 5, 2018 and lasted no more than 30 seconds.
“Air launch” is a promising concept, designed to simplify and cheapen the launch of spacecraft into orbit. However, in this direction, scientists face a huge amount of difficulties. First of all, we need a reliable capsule for launch, as well as an engine of sufficient power for a launch vehicle or a spacecraft, ”noted Popov.
One of the investors in the development of Stratolaunch was Paul Allen, co-founder of Microsoft. He invested about $ 200 million in the project. According to the businessman, the new aircraft will function as an “airport for satellites”. Burt Rutan, who had previously worked on VSS, was appointed Stratolaunch's general designer.
As conceived by the developer, Stratolaunch should rise to a height of 9 thousand meters, which is considered optimal for separating the payload. On a launch vehicle, a jet engine is switched on, which takes satellites into near-earth orbit.
The plane will use Pegasus XL light missiles from the Orbital Sciences Corporation. The mass of the payload of one carrier is 443 kg. A total of Stratolaunch can carry up to three Pegasus XL. Also involved in the project is the company Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) Ilona Mask. The company is developing a multi-stage accelerator weighing 222 tons.
- Stratolaunch Model 351 in flight
- Reuters
- © Gene Blevins
According to Popov, Stratolaunch can launch about ten satellites simultaneously into orbit. Nevertheless, even in the case of successful implementation of this project, the United States will still continue to use spaceports.
“Modern satellites weigh tens of kilograms, some samples are even smaller. If Stratolaunch is brought to mind, then it will allow the Americans to quickly orbit orbit spacecraft. The disadvantage of the project is the limited location sites - for such a giant, a strip of at least 4 km in length is required. To transfer Stratolaunch to any part of the world will not work without prior modernization of the infrastructure, ”the expert noted.
"Militarization Course"
Stratolaunch was first shown to the public on May 31, 2017. Gene Floyd, General Director of Stratolaunch Systems, noted that the aircraft "will become an important frontier on the way to creating a convenient, reliable and familiar way of delivering cargo to a low earth orbit."
After the presentation, ground tests of the machine began. In September 2017, the engine was launched, in December - the first taxiing on the runway. In 2018, Stratolaunch made several “runs” on the airfield to work out the takeoff. The launch of the launch vehicle during the flight is scheduled for 2020.
“Americans still have a lot of work. The results demonstrated during the first flight say nothing. At the moment, the United States has only proved that they can lift such a huge car into the air. The most important tests are still ahead. These will be launches of carrier rockets and dozens of flights of varying degrees of complexity for obtaining various certificates, ”emphasizes Popov.
- Stratolaunch Model 351 on the runway
- © @Stratolaunch
According to the expert, very high costs have a negative impact on the project - only one launch vehicle costs about $ 40 million. According to Popov, development work will stretch for at least several years, and the cost of their implementation can be several billion dollars.
In August 2018, the Quartz edition drew attention to the lack of potential customers at Stratolaunch Systems and questioned the economic viability of the project. Journalists assume that the project is supervised and financed by the US Department of Defense. In particular, the Pentagon allegedly considers Stratolaunch as a platform for the use of anti-satellite weapons.
The fact that Stratolaunch Systems facilities was visited by Vice President Mike Pence and Air Force Minister Heather Wilson testifies in favor of this version. In addition, Michael Griffin, the current US Assistant Secretary of Defense for Research and Development, was a member of the company's board of directors (before going to work at the Pentagon).
In a conversation with RT, military expert Yury Knutov expressed the opinion that the high-tech project Stratolaunch cannot be implemented without the participation of the Pentagon. According to him, the US Department of Defense expects to use various modifications of the aircraft to launch satellites and ballistic missiles. Also, the analyst does not exclude that the Stratolaunch will be produced in a transport modification for the US Air Force.
“Stratolaunch is a dual-purpose project, the military’s interest in it is very high. The use of such an aircraft in the military sphere is consistent with the concept of "Star Wars", which Donald Trump continues to implement. This is a course towards the militarization of space, directed against Russia and China. I doubt that Stratolaunch can pay off in the commercial sphere, therefore, along with private investment, the project receives financial assistance from the Pentagon, ”the expert emphasized.