| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Aerospace |
| Founded | 2011 |
| Headquarters | Huntsville, Alabama |
| Key people | Paul Allen, Burt Rutan, Mike Griffin |
| Parent | Vulcan Inc.[1] |
| Website | stratolaunchsystems.com |
Stratolaunch Systems is a space transportation venture specializing in air launch to orbit, with its corporate headquarters located in Huntsville, Alabama. It was founded in 2011 by Microsoft co-founder Paul G. Allen and Scaled Composites founder Burt Rutan, who had previously collaborated on the creation of SpaceShipOne.[2] The start up will build a mobile launch system with three primary components; a carrier aircraft to be built by Scaled Composites, a multi-stage launch vehicle built by Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX), and a mating and integration system to be built by Dynetics.[3] Dynetics will also be "responsible for the systems engineering, integration and testing, which includes aerodynamics, loads, and interfaces,"[4] experience gained in previous integration work on the world's largest precision-guided air-dropped system, the 22,600 pounds (10,300 kg) MOAB bomb.[4]
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The project was started nearly a year prior to the public announcement. Dynetics began work in early 2011, and has approximately 40 employees working on the project as of December 2011[update]. SpaceX efforts began only recently prior to the public announcement.[1]
Allen and Rutan stated that the carrier aircraft would have a wingspan of 117 m (385 ft),[1][5] or about 6.1 m (20 ft) longer than an Apollo-era Saturn V, making it the largest aircraft, by wingspan, to ever fly.[6] It will weigh in at over 540,000 kg (1,200,000 lb) including the fully fuelled launch vehicle.[5] The aircraft will be powered by six 46,000—66,500lb thrust-range jet engines, that are planned to be sourced from Boeing 747-400,[3] obtained from "two used 747-400s that will be cannibalized for engines, avionics, flight deck, landing gear and other proven systems that can be recycled to cut development costs."[1] The carrier aircraft is expected to have a range of 2,200 km (1,200 nmi) on air launch missions.[7] It will use a 3,700 m (12,000 ft) long runway and the carrier aircraft to is expected to make its first testflight in 2015 with a follow on to orbital testing of the launch vehicle in 2016.[8]
A Falcon 9-derivative two-stage liquid-fueled air-launched winged launch vehicle will be developed by SpaceX.[7] The launch vehicle will have a launch mass of approximately 220,000 kilograms (490,000 lb) and will have the goal of inserting a 6,100 kg (13,000 lb) payload into low Earth orbit.[6][3]
Stratolaunch systems has signed a 20-year lease agreement with the Kern County Airport Authority, Mojave, California, for the lease of 20 acres at the Mojave Air and Space Port to build a facility for the venture.[9] It is proposed as a 200,000-square-foot hangar near Scaled Composites.[10]