{"id":25917472,"date":"2026-10-01T11:59:13","date_gmt":"2026-10-01T09:59:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/stratolaunch-roc-widest-wingspan-aircraft-ever-flown-hypersonic-mothership\/"},"modified":"2026-10-01T11:59:48","modified_gmt":"2026-10-01T09:59:48","slug":"stratolaunch-roc-widest-wingspan-aircraft-ever-flown-hypersonic-mothership","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/de\/stratolaunch-roc-widest-wingspan-aircraft-ever-flown-hypersonic-mothership\/","title":{"rendered":"Stratolaunch Roc: The Widest Aircraft Ever Flown, Now a Hypersonic Mothership"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>.et_pb_title_container h1.entry-title { padding-top: 40px !important; }<\/style>\r\n\r\n<p>On the morning of 13 April 2019, the widest aircraft ever built rolled down the runway at Mojave in California, lifted two fuselages and six engines off the ground, and flew for two and a half hours. Its wings stretched 385 feet from tip to tip, wider than an American football field is long.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>The man who had paid for it was not there to see it. Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen had died six months earlier. His giant, nicknamed Roc after the mythical bird said to be big enough to carry an elephant, nearly became a museum piece. Instead, it became the mothership for one of America's most important hypersonic test programmes.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"background:#f4f6f8;border-left:4px solid #5C91FF;padding:18px 22px;margin:20px 0 28px\"><p style=\"margin:0 0 8px;font-weight:700;color:#0d1117\">Quick Facts<\/p><ul style=\"margin:0;padding-left:18px\"><li style=\"margin:3px 0\"><strong>Official name:<\/strong> Scaled Composites Model 351 Stratolaunch, \"Roc\"<\/li><li style=\"margin:3px 0\"><strong>Wingspan:<\/strong> 385 ft (117 m), the largest of any aircraft ever flown<\/li><li style=\"margin:3px 0\"><strong>Length:<\/strong> 238 ft (73 m)<\/li><li style=\"margin:3px 0\"><strong>Max take-off weight:<\/strong> 1,300,000 lb (about 590 tonnes)<\/li><li style=\"margin:3px 0\"><strong>Engines:<\/strong> Six Pratt & Whitney PW4056 turbofans, the type used on the Boeing 747-400<\/li><li style=\"margin:3px 0\"><strong>Crew:<\/strong> Pilot, co-pilot and flight engineer in the right fuselage; left fuselage unmanned<\/li><li style=\"margin:3px 0\"><strong>First flight:<\/strong> 13 April 2019, Mojave Air and Space Port<\/li><li style=\"margin:3px 0\"><strong>Current role:<\/strong> Carrier aircraft for the Talon-A hypersonic test vehicle<\/li><\/ul><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Paul Allen's Space Dream<\/h2>\r\n\r\n<p>Allen founded Stratolaunch in December 2011 with a simple idea: carry a rocket high into the atmosphere under a giant aircraft and launch it from there, avoiding fixed launch pads and bad weather. The aircraft was built by Scaled Composites in Mojave, the company that had already built SpaceShipOne and its carrier aircraft for Allen.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>To lift a fully fuelled rocket, the aircraft needed enormous size. Scaled gave it two fuselages joined by a single straight centre wing, with the payload hanging from the middle. The six engines are Pratt & Whitney PW4056s, the type that powers the Boeing 747-400, and only the right-hand fuselage has a cockpit for the crew.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px;width:100%\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/10\/giant-planes-comparison-stratolaunch-an-225-spruce-goose-a380-747.png\" alt=\"Size comparison of the largest aircraft ever built\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;max-width:100%;display:block\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">How the Stratolaunch compares with other giants, including the Hughes H-4 Hercules, Antonov An-225, Airbus A380 and Boeing 747-8. Diagram: Clem Tillier \/ Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.5<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">The First Flight<\/h2>\r\n\r\n<p>Test pilot Evan Thomas took Roc up from Mojave Air and Space Port on 13 April 2019. The flight lasted about two and a half hours, reached more than 17,000 feet and topped out at around 165 knots as the crew checked handling and systems before landing back at Mojave.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"background:#f8f9fa;border-left:4px solid #5C91FF;padding:20px 22px;margin:18px 0 24px;font-size:16px;line-height:1.7;display:flex;gap:20px;align-items:flex-start\"><div><em>&ldquo;The flight itself was smooth, which is exactly what you want the first flight to be.&rdquo;<\/em><div style=\"margin-top:10px;font-size:14px;color:#555\"><strong>Evan Thomas<\/strong> &mdash; Stratolaunch test pilot, after the first flight (via Space.com)<\/div><\/div><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Stratolaunch's chief executive at the time, Jean Floyd, said watching the aircraft fly was emotional, and that he had whispered a thank-you to Allen. By then the company's future was already in question.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;margin:24px 0\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/VFHAz4AG-no\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Near Death and a New Mission<\/h2>\r\n\r\n<p>Without its founder, Stratolaunch ceased operations in May 2019 and dropped its rocket plans. In October 2019 the company was bought by the private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management, which kept the aircraft and gave it a new purpose: hypersonic flight testing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Hypersonic weapons, which fly at more than five times the speed of sound, had become a top Pentagon priority, but the United States had few ways to test them often and affordably. A reusable hypersonic test vehicle launched from a giant carrier aircraft offered a solution.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"background:#f8f9fa;border-left:4px solid #1565c0;padding:20px 22px;margin:18px 0 24px;font-size:16px;line-height:1.7;display:flex;gap:20px;align-items:flex-start\"><div><em>&ldquo;It was an emotional moment for me to personally watch this majestic bird take flight.&rdquo;<\/em><div style=\"margin-top:10px;font-size:14px;color:#555\"><strong>Jean Floyd<\/strong> &mdash; Stratolaunch CEO, on the first flight in 2019 (via Space.com)<\/div><\/div><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Talon-A: Mach 5 and Back<\/h2>\r\n\r\n<p>The answer was Talon-A, an uncrewed, rocket-powered hypersonic test vehicle that hangs under Roc's centre wing. The pair flew their first captive-carry test in October 2022, and on 5 March 2024 Roc released the expendable TA-1 for its first powered flight.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px;width:100%\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/10\/talon-a2-ta-2-hypersonic-vehicle-lakebed.jpg\" alt=\"Stratolaunch Talon-A2 reusable hypersonic test vehicle\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;max-width:100%;display:block\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">The reusable Talon-A2 (TA-2) hypersonic test vehicle. Released from Roc, it exceeded Mach 5 on two flights in December 2024 and March 2025. Photo: Eva Folsom \/ Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>The reusable TA-2 followed. Stratolaunch announced in May 2025 that it had flown faster than Mach 5 on two flights, in December 2024 and March 2025, and was recovered after each flight, making it a reusable hypersonic test platform for the Pentagon.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;margin:24px 0\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/9UYj6jOXDV8\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><em>Stratolaunch's own film of the TA-1 first flight in March 2024, released from Roc over the Pacific.<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">A Mothership With a Future<\/h2>\r\n\r\n<p>Demand for hypersonic testing is now high enough that Roc is getting company. On 30 September 2026 Stratolaunch announced it had bought a former Air New Zealand Boeing 777-200ER to convert into an additional Talon-A carrier. Roc remains the original, and still the widest aircraft ever to fly: a machine built to launch rockets that found its real calling launching the future of high-speed flight.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><em>Sources: Wikipedia (Scaled Composites Stratolaunch), Space.com, Stratolaunch, The Aviationist, SpaceNews, AIAA<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<style>.mfq{margin:34px 0 8px}.mfq h2{font:26px\/1.3 \"Gilroy semiBold\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#0d1117;padding-top:22px;margin:0 0 6px}.mfq .qa details{border-top:1px solid #5C91FF;margin:0;padding:0}.mfq .qa details:last-of-type{border-bottom:1px solid #e2e7ee}.mfq .qa summary{cursor:pointer;list-style:none;display:flex;justify-content:space-between;align-items:center;gap:16px;padding:22px 26px;font:18px\/1.7 \"Gilroy semiBold\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#0d1117}.mfq .qa summary::-webkit-details-marker{display:none}.mfq .qa summary::after{content:\"+\";font:24px Helvetica,sans-serif;color:#3568e0;flex:0 0 auto}.mfq .qa details[open] summary::after{content:\"\\2013\"}.mfq .qa details:hover summary{color:#3568e0}.mfq .qa .a{font:16px\/1.7 \"Gilroy regular\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#454e5e;padding:0 26px 24px}.mfq .qa .a a{color:#3568e0}@media(max-width:680px){.mfq .qa summary{padding:18px 14px;font-size:17px}.mfq .qa .a{padding:0 14px 20px}}<\/style>\r\n\r\n\r\n<section class=\"mfq\"><h2>Frequently Asked Questions<\/h2><div class=\"qa\"><details open><summary>What is the wingspan of the Stratolaunch Roc?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">The Stratolaunch Roc has a wingspan of 385 feet (117 metres), the largest of any aircraft ever flown. That is wider than the Hughes H-4 Hercules and the Antonov An-225.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>When did the Stratolaunch Roc first fly?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">The Stratolaunch Roc first flew on 13 April 2019 from Mojave Air and Space Port in California. The flight, flown by test pilot Evan Thomas, lasted about two and a half hours and reached more than 17,000 feet.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>What engines does the Stratolaunch Roc use?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">The Stratolaunch Roc is powered by six Pratt &amp; Whitney PW4056 turbofans, the same engine type used on the Boeing 747-400.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>What does the Stratolaunch Roc do today?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">Roc now serves as the carrier aircraft for Stratolaunch's Talon-A hypersonic test vehicles. It carries Talon-A to altitude and releases it, after which the rocket-powered vehicle can fly at more than Mach 5.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>Who built the Stratolaunch aircraft?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">The Stratolaunch aircraft, Scaled Composites Model 351, was built by Scaled Composites in Mojave, California, for Stratolaunch Systems, the company founded by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen in 2011.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>Why is the Stratolaunch aircraft called Roc?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">The Stratolaunch aircraft is nicknamed Roc after the mythical giant bird of Middle Eastern legend, said to be large enough to carry an elephant in its claws.<\/div><\/details><\/div><\/section>\r\n\r\n\r\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@type\":\"FAQPage\",\"mainEntity\":[{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"What is the wingspan of the Stratolaunch Roc?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"The Stratolaunch Roc has a wingspan of 385 feet (117 metres), the largest of any aircraft ever flown. 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Its wings stretched 385 feet from tip to tip, wider than an American football field is long. The [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27,"featured_media":25917163,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"editor_notices":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[665],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25917472","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-aviation-world"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Stratolaunch Roc: Widest Aircraft Ever Flown | MiGFlug<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Stratolaunch Roc has a 385 ft wingspan, the widest ever flown. 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