Stratolaunch Systems

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Stratolaunch Systems

logo
legal form Incorporated
founding 2011
Seat Huntsville, Alabama
management Jean Floyd ( CEO )
Branch Aviation and Aerospace
Website stratolaunchsystems.com

Stratolaunch Systems is an American company that operates a carrier aircraft for the airborne launch of missiles. Originally, it was intended to transport launch vehicles for satellite launches. Instead, it has been planned since 2020 to bring experimental hypersonic aircraft and later space gliders into the air. Stratolaunch is headquartered in Huntsville , Alabama .

Company history

The company was founded in 2011 by Microsoft founder Paul Allen and Scaled Composites founder Burt Rutan . Before that, both of them worked together on the development of the SpaceShipOne . After Paul Allen's death in 2018, Stratolaunch was temporarily under the supervision of his sister Jody Allen. In October 2019 the company was sold to an unnamed new owner. In March 2020, Stratolaunch announced that it would develop two hypersonic aircraft called the Talon-A and Talon-X, and a reusable orbital space glider called Black Ice .

Stratolaunch missile launch system

The system is based on similar components as with SpaceShipOne and its successor SpaceShipTwo , with which Virgin Galactic offers suborbital flights.

The three components of the mobile start system are:

  1. a carrier aircraft built by Scaled Composites
  2. a launch vehicle (discontinued concept) or a hypersonic aircraft or space glider
  3. an assembly and integration unit from Dynetics (as of 2011)

plane

Comparison of the wingspan of the Stratolaunch carrier aircraft with other aircraft

The carrier aircraft has a wingspan of 117 meters and a length of 73 meters, making it the aircraft with the largest wingspan to date. The total weight of the system is approx. 590 t, of which approx. 227 t are accounted for by the boosters to be transported. It is powered by six Pratt & Whitney 4056 engines, like those used in the Boeing 747-400. These give the system an operational radius of approx. 1850 km to reach the rocket launch point. Alternatively, the range for freight transport is up to 14,800 km. The system requires a runway length of at least 3660 m for take-offs. The rollout of the aircraft took place on May 31, 2017, the first test flight on April 13, 2019.

The aircraft was designed by Scaled Composites with two parallel fuselages connected by a wing center piece. This design has already been successfully tested on the White Knight Two carrier aircraft . The hulls are made of composite materials for weight reasons. The machine was originally supposed to have a cockpit area similar to a Boeing 747 in the right fuselage. For this and for other systems, the company had bought two B747. These machines are two 747-422s newly acquired from United Airlines (Reg .: N198UA, MSN: 28716, Line No .: 1124 and Reg .: N196UA MSN: 28715 Line No .: 1120). When the aircraft was actually built, the shape of the now symmetrical front fuselage was changed. Systems such as landing gear, hydraulics, electrics and the entire cockpit section were taken over from the two Boeing 747-422s. It was planned to manufacture only one aircraft.

Assembly and integration unit

Under the middle of the wing that connects the two fuselages is the “Mating and Integration System”, by means of which the rocket is attached to the aircraft. It establishes the mechanical connection and the electrical connections to the carrier aircraft and is to be built by Dynetics.

Abandoned missile projects

A two-stage launch vehicle derived from the Falcon 9 was to be developed by SpaceX. It had a projected take-off mass of 220 t, a length of 35 m and was supposed to bring a payload of up to 6.1 t into a LEO . The first stage should have five engines. In front of the first stage engine section, the rocket should have had a delta-shaped wing.

However, the modifications to the Falcon 9 for SpaceX were too complex to produce. Stratolaunch therefore switched to Orbital Sciences as a rocket supplier. At the time this change was announced, Orbital was still in the definition phase of its rocket, so nothing was known about it at that time (December 2012). In August 2013 it was announced that ATK would supply the solid-state motors for the first and second stages of this rocket. The third stage should have multiple burn phases and use frozen liquid fuel. It should have one or two engines, depending on the target path. The diameter of the rocket was planned to be 3.2 to 3.7 m. It should be able to bring 6.8 t into low earth orbit and have a payload fairing with a diameter of 5 m. The payload capacity for the geostationary transfer orbit should be a little over 2 t. The design provided for a double vertical stabilizer at the end and below at the belly trapezoidal stub wings with a V-position .

At the beginning of 2019, the company stopped its own rocket project. Instead, Pegasus XL rockets should now be launched, which, like the aircraft, are manufactured by a Northrop-Grumman subsidiary, but are no longer considered to be competitive. Stratolaunch gave up these plans too; Northrop Grumman repurchased two Pegasus rockets that were already purchased and in production in October 2019.

Hypersonic aircraft "Talon"

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Space glider "Black Ice"

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Formerly planned mission sequence

The aircraft takes off with the payload under the middle section of the wing and climbs to an altitude of around 9,000 meters on the way to the launch point of the rocket. It lifts the nose at the launch point by about 45 ° and drops the missile. The rocket ignites after a few seconds and soars into space. After the first stage is shut down, the second separates with the payload and ignites. The payload separates after it has burned out. The carrier aircraft returns to the launch site.

Base

Stratolaunch Systems has signed a 20-year contract for the use of 80,000 square meters on the Mojave Air & Space Port . A 19,000 square meter hangar was built there in March 2013.

Web links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ a b Stratolaunch develops hypersonic aircraft . Golem.de , March 31, 2020.
  2. ↑ a b c Daniel Terdiman: Paul Allen's Stratolaunch: Grand plan for next-gen space travel. Cnet News, December 13, 2011, accessed December 15, 2011 .
  3. ↑ a b Stratolaunch under new ownership . Spaceflight Now, October 11, 2019.
  4. ^ A b Paul Allen to unveil Stratolaunch Systems today. NewSpace Journal, December 13, 2011, accessed December 15, 2011 .
  5. ↑ Airplane with world's longest wingspan takes flight, beating Spruce Goose record . Associated Press / The Guardian, April 13, 2019.
  6. ^ A b Zach Rosenberg: Stratolaunch nears conclusion of systems design review , in Flightglobal, Source: Flight International, February 28, 2012, accessed March 16, 2012
  7. ↑ a b c Stratolaunch Aims to Break Affordability Barrier. Aviation Week, December 13, 2011, archived from the original on December 5, 2012 ; accessed on December 15, 2011 .
  8. ^ Andreas Donath: Stratolaunch Press Kit. (PDF; 2 MB) Stratolaunch Systems, archived from the original on January 31, 2012 ; Retrieved December 20, 2011 .
  9. ^ Mark Whittington: Space Pioneers Announce Stratolaunch Systems to Revolutionize Space Flight. Yahoo News on December 13, 2011, archived from the original on July 24, 2012 ; accessed on December 15, 2011 .
  10. ↑ Jeff Foust: Stratolaunch rolls out giant aircraft , Space News, May 31, 2017.
  11. ↑ Chris Bergin: Stratolaunch introduce Rutan designed air-launched system for Falcon rockets. Nasaspaceflight.com, December 13, 2011, accessed December 19, 2011 .
  12. ↑ https://www.airliners.net/photo/Untitled/Boeing-747-422/2134060?qsp=eJwtjcEKwkAMRH9Fcu5FBA%2B96Q8o1B8I2cEW1%2B6SRHQp/Xdj8fZ4M8wsJGV2fPzWKqgnA6uM1FFl5adRv9AD7V00BdPgyl4yv2YZd0MzR1Q6sqJ%2BbpEndpxEUB3p7y%2BaoL8IJtvsPW72AdDrxnQ4hk%2BT1czbBpynTOv6BYXTNKs%3D
  13. ↑ a b c Stephen Clark: ATK chosen to supply Stratolaunch rocket motors . In Spaceflight Now on August 13, 2013, accessed August 14, 2013
  14. ^ Paul G. Allen Announces Revolution in Space Transportation. (PDF; 0.4 MB) Stratolaunch Systems, December 13, 2011, accessed on December 15, 2011 .
  15. ↑ Orbital Sciences Replaces SpaceX on Stratolaunch Project at spacenews.com, November 30, 2012, accessed December 14
  16. ↑ a b Gunter Dirk Krebs: Stratolaunch / Thunderbolt in Skyrocket.de, May 20, 2014, accessed on August 21, 2014
  17. ↑ Two graphics in the article Commercial Crew: Development Continues! by Martin Knipfer, in raumfahrer.net, October 29, 2014, accessed on November 5, 2014
  18. ^ Stratolaunch abandons launch vehicle program. In: Spacenews. January 18, 2019, accessed January 19, 2019 .
  19. ↑ Jeff Foust: Stratolaunch plane makes first flight. April 13, 2019, accessed April 13, 2019 .
  20. ↑ Spacelaunch Systems: animation of the mission sequence. Youtube, December 13, 2011, accessed December 15, 2011 .
  21. ^ Stratolaunch Systems Signs Lease with Mojave Air and Space Port. Stratolaunch Systems, May 31, 2011, archived from the original on December 18, 2011 ; accessed on December 15, 2011 .
  22. ^ Next Step to Space: Allen, Rutan announce Stratolaunch Systems for commercial spaced launches. Archived from the original on January 7, 2012 ; accessed on December 15, 2011 .