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Stratolaunch

US
commercialFounded 2011
History · 1 eventMay 23, 2023 · Virgin Orbit files for bankruptcy, assets sold to Rocket Lab, Stratolaunch, and Vast/Launcher
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All verified mentions of this organization in source documents.

Stratolaunch plans to use its Roc aircraft as a platform for launching hypersonic test vehicles and conducted an unpowered drop test of Talon TA-0 on 2023-05-13 off the California coast.

PlanCapabilityValue 4.0May 18, 2023U.K. government won’t buy Virgin Orbit

Stratolaunch built a larger custom aircraft called Roc originally to serve as an air-launch platform.

CapabilityGeneralValue 3.0May 18, 2023U.K. government won’t buy Virgin Orbit

Virgin Orbit filed a stalking-horse bid agreement with Stratolaunch on 2023-05-16 under which Stratolaunch would buy Virgin Orbit’s Boeing 747 aircraft and related equipment for $17,000,000.

RelationshipsFinancialValue 5.0May 18, 2023U.K. government won’t buy Virgin Orbit

Stratolaunch LLC completed a separation release test of the Talon-A separation test vehicle TA-0.

CapabilityPlanValue 4.0May 15, 2023Stratolaunch successfully completes vehicle separation test of Talon-A Vehicle

Stratolaunch in Mojave, California received a 2022 ACO selection to bring shuttle orbiter thermal protection system technology into the 21st century with NASA Ames.

RelationshipsCapabilityValue 4.0Apr 26, 2023NASA Selects 12 Companies to Collaborate on Key Technology Developments for Moon to Mars Objectives

Stratolaunch’s Roc launch aircraft took off from Mojave Air and Space Port on 2023-04-01 for its tenth flight and third captive carry with the Talon-A separation test vehicle, TA-1.

PlanValue 4.0Apr 3, 2023Stratolaunch completes 3rd captive carry flight with Talon-A Vehicle

Stratolaunch LLC completed a third captive carry flight of the Talon-A separation test vehicle, TA-0.

PlanCapabilityGeneralValue 4.0Apr 3, 2023Stratolaunch completes 3rd captive carry flight with Talon-A Vehicle

Stratolaunch is working with Ursa Major Technologies in qualification testing of the engine that will propel TA-1.

RelationshipsCapabilityPlanValue 4.0Jan 16, 2022Stratolaunch plane flies again as company prepares for hypersonic tests

Stratolaunch will use Roc as a platform for launching a series of hypersonic vehicles called Talon.

PlanCapabilityValue 4.0Jan 16, 2022Stratolaunch plane flies again as company prepares for hypersonic tests

Cerberus Capital Management acquired Stratolaunch in 2019.

RelationshipsValue 4.0Jul 21, 2021Accion Systems gets new owner to scale up propulsion system

Stratolaunch refocused resources on a vehicle called Talon-A that will be air-launched from its carrier aircraft to test hypersonic systems.

PlanCapabilityValue 4.0Jul 21, 2021Accion Systems gets new owner to scale up propulsion system

Under Cerebus ownership, Stratolaunch shifted from being a launch services provider using air-launch systems to supporting hypersonic testing with a vehicle called Talon-A.

GeneralCapabilityValue 3.5Apr 30, 2021Stratolaunch aircraft returns to the skies after two-year hiatus

Stratolaunch is positioning its vehicle system to offer the U.S. Department of Defense a means to test hypersonic technologies in a simpler, repeatable, and reusable way to mitigate risk for expensive flight testing.

CapabilityGeneralValue 3.0Apr 30, 2021Stratolaunch aircraft returns to the skies after two-year hiatus

Talon-A will be powered by a liquid-propellant rocket engine, will launch from Stratolaunch’s aircraft, will fly to speeds of Mach 5 to Mach 7, and will glide back to a runway landing.

CapabilityPlanValue 4.4Mar 30, 2020Stratolaunch announces hypersonic vehicle plans

Stratolaunch plans to procure Talon-A’s engine from another company that Stratolaunch will name at a later date.

RelationshipsPlanValue 3.4Mar 30, 2020Stratolaunch announces hypersonic vehicle plans

By 2023, Stratolaunch plans to support multiple Talon-A missions on a single flight of its aircraft, with as many as three Talon-A vehicles carried by the plane at once.

PlanCapabilityValue 4.0Mar 30, 2020Stratolaunch announces hypersonic vehicle plans

On 2020-03-30, Stratolaunch is developing a reusable hypersonic vehicle designed to be launched from the company’s giant aircraft.

PlanCapabilityValue 3.0Mar 30, 2020Stratolaunch announces hypersonic vehicle plans

Stratolaunch has not provided a timetable for developing the Black Ice spaceplane.

PlanValue 2.0Mar 30, 2020Stratolaunch announces hypersonic vehicle plans

Mark Bitterman, vice president for government relations and business development at Stratolaunch, presented at the Next-Generation Suborbital Researchers Conference on 2020-03-04 in Broomfield, Colorado.

GovernanceValue 2.0Mar 4, 2020Stratolaunch to resume test flights in September

A paper by three Stratolaunch employees presented at the AIAA Space 2018 conference described using the company’s giant aircraft to host air-launched hypersonic experimental vehicles.

CapabilityPlanValue 2.5Jan 21, 2020Stratolaunch confirms interest in launch services and hypersonic vehicles
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