Aerospace company Stratolaunch conducted the first flight test of the Roc aircraft with an installed mockup
What is known
The test took place at the end of October and was completed successfully.The Talon-A unit was mounted on the center pilot of the aircraft. The tests took place over the Mojave Desert. Roc was in the air for more than five hours and rose to a height of up to 7 km. During this time, the startup collected the necessary information about the aerodynamic loads of both aircraft.
Roc landed at 1:29 p.m. and our team is busy analyzing the data gathered during today’s flight! pic.twitter.com/JIF0Q94WJe
— Stratolaunch (@Stratolaunch) October 28, 2022
Until the end of 2022, the company plans toa few more tests. In particular, as part of one of the Stratolaunch test flights, check the operation of the aircraft drop system by dropping the Talon-A unit over the Pacific Ocean. In parallel with this, the startup continues to develop a hypersonic aircraft. Work on it should be completed in 2023.
Roc is a twin-body aircraft with a spanwings 117 meters. As part of the tests that took place in October, he made his eighth flight. The company plans to use it to launch oversized vehicles that will help in the study of hypersonic flight.
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As for Talon-A, it's hypersonica test rig that can reach speeds in excess of Mach 5 (6,000 km/h) and carry a customizable payload. The TA-0 block, devoid of an engine, took part in the test. The company is currently working on prototypes of the TA-1 and TA-2.