US tests novel hypersonic flying vehicle

The American aerospace company Stratolaunch has achieved a significant breakthrough as it conducted the inaugural powered flight of its Talon-A vehicle, designated TA-1.

The uncrewed test reached "high supersonic" speeds, marking a crucial step towards hypersonic flight capabilities, Caliber.Az writes, citing Space News.

Departing from the Mojave Air and Space Port in California at 10:17 a.m. Eastern, TA-1 was released from the Roc aircraft over the Pacific near the central California coast. The Roc safely returned to Mojave over four hours later.

Stratolaunch executives refrained from disclosing specific details, such as top speed and altitude, citing "proprietary agreements" with undisclosed customers. Despite the withheld figures, they expressed satisfaction with the flight's success. Zachary Krevor, President and CEO of Stratolaunch, stated, "As part of our successful achievement of the test objectives, we did reach that high supersonic regime approaching hypersonic flight."

Aaron Cassebeer, Senior Vice President of Engineering and Operations, highlighted TA-1's accomplishments, including a controlled ascent through high supersonic speeds and a subsequent deceleration, leading to an ocean splashdown. As an expendable vehicle, TA-1 was not recovered. Cassebeer noted, "Overall, we’re incredibly pleased with how TA-1 performed today," adding that the company is well-positioned for its planned test series.

Stratolaunch's upcoming vehicle, TA-2, represents the company's first reusable hypersonic vehicle and is slated for flight tests in the latter half of the year. Concurrently, TA-3, another reusable vehicle, is in production. Additionally, Stratolaunch is modifying a Boeing 747 acquired in 2020, following Virgin Orbit's bankruptcy auction, to serve as a second air-launch platform.

Founded by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen over a decade ago, Stratolaunch initially aimed to provide air-launch services with a giant twin-fuselage, six-engine aircraft. After a series of strategic shifts and the death of Allen in 2018, the company was acquired by private equity firm Cerebus. In 2020, Stratolaunch refocused on developing hypersonic vehicles for air-launch using the Roc platform.

The TA-1 flight also marked a significant achievement for Ursa Major Technologies, the developer of the Hadley engine powering the vehicle. During the approximately 200-second flight, the Hadley engine performed exceptionally well, meeting all expectations. Ursa Major had not publicly disclosed any flight tests of the Hadley engine before the TA-1 flight.