@ Mojave, CA
October 2022
I visited the Mojave Air & Space Port after being alerted to Stratolaunch being outside its hangar. Luckily I was able to get some images of this unique airplane. The Stratolaunch is an aircraft initially built by Scaled Composites to conduct air launches of rockets carrying orbital payloads. Originally planned to air launch the SpaceX Falcon 9 Air booster, following the death of founder Paul Allen, the current mission is to providing high-speed flight test services. Construction of the aircraft began in 2012, rollout was in May 2017 and first flight occurred in April 2019. The Stratolaunch set new records for aircraft wingspan (385 ft) and length (238 ft). The aircraft is nicknamed “Roc” after Sinbad’s Roc, the mythical bird so big it could carry an elephant.