Presentation: April 2018

This month's AE presenter: David
Date of presentation: 23 Apr 2018
Subject: The Stratolaunch Aircraft
Description: David gave a presentation this month on the Stratolaunch aircraft. The Stratolaunch is similar in concept to Spaceship One's mothership, the White Knight. It is a twin-boomed airplane used to carry satellite boosters to approximately 50,000 feet. The booster is then dropped for launch to low earth orbit. The Stratolaunch is the largest airplane by wingspan, with a 385 foot wing, longer than the wing of the Spruce Goose. Gross weight is over 1.3 million pounds, with a 500,000 pound payload. The airplane's six engines and many of the flight components were salvaged from two Boeing 747s. The Stratolaunch is currently undergoing high speed taxi testing. Its first flight is expected to be in 2019.