Stratolaunch: General Company and Development Updates and Discussions

[theinternetftw]

Right.  All we know is somebody has gotten ownership of the plane/company assets.

And what they said in their release:

Stratolaunch LLC has transitioned ownership and is continuing regular operations.  Our near-term launch vehicle development strategy focuses on providing customizable, reusable, and affordable rocket-powered testbed vehicles and associated flight services.

[meekGee]

I don't care if the new investor is private or institutional or aerospace.  In this rapidly transforming space, there isn't room for expendable rockets, and winged carrier aircraft bring nothing to the table.

And you know that their intent is still to launch rockets from this aircraft?  Have they told you this?

I am guessing the answer to both of those is no.

You're right, maybe the intent is to scrap the airplane and keep the rocket...  (/Sarcasm)


Did you even read their press release?  They said exactly that:  "As we continue on our mission, Stratolaunch will bring the carrier aircraft test and operations program fully in-house. "

[Star One]

I don't care if the new investor is private or institutional or aerospace.  In this rapidly transforming space, there isn't room for expendable rockets, and winged carrier aircraft bring nothing to the table.

And you know that their intent is still to launch rockets from this aircraft?  Have they told you this?

I am guessing the answer to both of those is no.

You're right, maybe the intent is to scrap the airplane and keep the rocket...  (/Sarcasm)


Did you even read their press release?  They said exactly that:  "As we continue on our mission, Stratolaunch will bring the carrier aircraft test and operations program fully in-house. "

I should know it being as posted the press release from their website. Did you even read all the thread?

[Darkseraph]

Stratolaunch may be an interesting test bed for various hyper-sonic vehicles and missiles, esp rather large ones. Because scramjet engines can't start from standstill, they effectively require conventional engines to reach operational velocities and altitudes anyway, carrying the weight of those extra engines. Two stage air-breathing hyper-sonic vehicles would be possible with this platform for point to point travel. Or conventional rockets for point to point, although carrying oxidizer would probably make the payload capacity smaller and mean less seats for passengers. So sort of a scaled up version of White Knight 2/SpaceShip 2.

Winged, horizontal landing/take-off stages on such a vehicle mean it can probably fly and land from conventional facilities avoiding building new complex launch infrastructure, avoid bad weather and closing down air-space around the launch site. These may be very desirable characteristics for a transport system that sends people rapidly around the world.

Also, Boost-glide weapons also require a solid rocket to get to the required velocity, so that's not a giant leap from air-launch of Pegasus rockets that this platform was intended to perform. It could launch multiple hypersonic missiles from a mobile platform. There's some advantages to that over a fixed platform or an expensive nuclear submarine.

Perhaps the unnamed investors include the DoD through In-Q-Tel or some front company! Wild speculation on my part.

[meekGee]

You're right, maybe the intent is to scrap the airplane and keep the rocket...  (/Sarcasm)


Did you even read their press release?  They said exactly that:  "As we continue on our mission, Stratolaunch will bring the carrier aircraft test and operations program fully in-house. "

I should know it being as posted the press release from their website. Did you even read all the thread?

I agree you should have, but you're posting as if you haven't.

You were asking whether SL indicated they'll keep the airplane (or rather commenting that they haven't told me that they would...)

---

The facts here are clear cut.  SL is developing an airplane-carried launcher.  They've built the airplane with the hope of partnering on the launcher itself, but that didn't work out.  As a result, they've started down the path of building a launcher and an engine for it, but they started very late and this is still an early stage project.

So, at very very best, if this effort is funded, they will have a medium-class lifter, 5 years from now.

With all that's happening in the world of launch right now, how is this attractive from an investment stand-point?

[Star One]

You're right, maybe the intent is to scrap the airplane and keep the rocket...  (/Sarcasm)


Did you even read their press release?  They said exactly that:  "As we continue on our mission, Stratolaunch will bring the carrier aircraft test and operations program fully in-house. "

I should know it being as posted the press release from their website. Did you even read all the thread?

I agree you should have, but you're posting as if you haven't.

You were asking whether SL indicated they'll keep the airplane (or rather commenting that they haven't told me that they would...)

---

The facts here are clear cut.  SL is developing an airplane-carried launcher.  They've built the airplane with the hope of partnering on the launcher itself, but that didn't work out.  As a result, they've started down the path of building a launcher and an engine for it, but they started very late and this is still an early stage project.

So, at very very best, if this effort is funded, they will have a medium-class lifter, 5 years from now.

With all that's happening in the world of launch right now, how is this attractive from an investment stand-point?

Nice try at a diversion you were the one asked the original questions by the OP. Not me. All I replied half jokingly was betting you didn’t know the answers.

Just as a reminder here’s those questions again. And stop pretending the facts are clear cut when they are anything but, unless you’re phoning to claim to have information that no one else has outside the company.

And you know that their intent is still to launch rockets from this aircraft?  Have they told you this?

[Yazata]

I think that it's pretty clear that Stratolaunch will keep the airplane, considering that they are hiring test-pilots to fly it.

It's probably premature to reach final conclusions about what the airplane is intended to carry and presumably to launch. People seem to just be assuming satellites using expendable rockets. (Despite the use of the word "reusable" in the SL press release.)

Darkseraph raised another interesting possibility: large hypersonic test vehicles. It's consistent with "rocket-powered test bed vehicles" from the press release and we know that the government (and presumably their contractors) are interested in these kinds of things. Understanding hypersonic aerodynamics and propulsion might potentially have longer-term commercial applications as well.

And it may be premature to assume that Stratolaunch will be supplying whatever vehicle their aircraft ends up carrying. Perhaps Stratolaunch was purchased by somebody that already has an existing project underway (whatever it turns out to be). Stratolaunch might be a missing puzzle piece that fits into a bigger pattern that isn't visible yet.

I'd guess that whoever purchased Stratolaunch already has an anticipated use for it. (Otherwise why would they spend the probably not inconsiderable money?) I assume they've already examined the business case and it makes sense from their perspective.

[meekGee]

You're right, maybe the intent is to scrap the airplane and keep the rocket...  (/Sarcasm)


Did you even read their press release?  They said exactly that:  "As we continue on our mission, Stratolaunch will bring the carrier aircraft test and operations program fully in-house. "

I should know it being as posted the press release from their website. Did you even read all the thread?

I agree you should have, but you're posting as if you haven't.

You were asking whether SL indicated they'll keep the airplane (or rather commenting that they haven't told me that they would...)

---

The facts here are clear cut.  SL is developing an airplane-carried launcher.  They've built the airplane with the hope of partnering on the launcher itself, but that didn't work out.  As a result, they've started down the path of building a launcher and an engine for it, but they started very late and this is still an early stage project.

So, at very very best, if this effort is funded, they will have a medium-class lifter, 5 years from now.

With all that's happening in the world of launch right now, how is this attractive from an investment stand-point?

Nice try at a diversion you were the one asked the original questions by the OP. Not me. All I replied half jokingly was betting you didn’t know the answers.

Just as a reminder here’s those questions again. And stop pretending the facts are clear cut when they are anything but, unless you’re phoning to claim to have information that no one else has outside the company.

And you know that their intent is still to launch rockets from this aircraft?  Have they told you this?

It's on their press release and web site. If you know otherwise, it's on you to back it up. 

[Lar]

There is a lot of casting aspersions going on here right now (well, at least it's not pages and pages of (disguised carefully) why Skylon is so brilliant and air launch is awesome).   

It's ok to speculate about things. It is also ok for that speculation to be uninformed. Critique the speculation itself (using logic, reason, facts the speculator might not have remembered, etc) .... not the speculator.

The excellence quotient needs boosting. You know what to do. Be excellent to each other.

Thank you.

[matthewkantar]

Any guesses as to how long the owner of the world's largest airplane can keep their identity a secret?

[Eric Hedman]

Stratolaunch may be an interesting test bed for various hyper-sonic vehicles and missiles, esp rather large ones. Because scramjet engines can't start from standstill, they effectively require conventional engines to reach operational velocities and altitudes anyway, carrying the weight of those extra engines. Two stage air-breathing hyper-sonic vehicles would be possible with this platform for point to point travel. Or conventional rockets for point to point, although carrying oxidizer would probably make the payload capacity smaller and mean less seats for passengers. So sort of a scaled up version of White Knight 2/SpaceShip 2.

Winged, horizontal landing/take-off stages on such a vehicle mean it can probably fly and land from conventional facilities avoiding building new complex launch infrastructure, avoid bad weather and closing down air-space around the launch site. These may be very desirable characteristics for a transport system that sends people rapidly around the world.

Also, Boost-glide weapons also require a solid rocket to get to the required velocity, so that's not a giant leap from air-launch of Pegasus rockets that this platform was intended to perform. It could launch multiple hypersonic missiles from a mobile platform. There's some advantages to that over a fixed platform or an expensive nuclear submarine.

Perhaps the unnamed investors include the DoD through In-Q-Tel or some front company! Wild speculation on my part.

This is what I thought is the most likely plan.  I have seen no evidence that this is the case.  I have seen nothing that rules it out.  I don't see launching satellites from this aircraft as commercially viable.  Hypersonic weapons and point to point travel are some real potential emerging markets.  A test bed for various components makes a lot of sense.  It is capable of launching much bigger vehicles than the B-52 that has been used for other tests.  But until they tell us what they are doing it is just another wild guess.  And they also may have thought of something no one else has mentioned on here.

[harrystranger]

A bit of dot connecting here @5:47
Interesting speculation...

[starchasercowboy]

From the TMRO video, I think that person is insinuating Northrop Grumman is the new owner.  Or maybe I misunderstood his clues.

[jstrotha0975]

I seriously doubt NG bought the Roc, especially since they said they will keep the L1011 flying for another 5-10 years and they bought a spare aircraft for parts. Also, the Pegasus rockets aren't selling, not even to NASA.

[dwheeler]

Stratolaunch may be an interesting test bed for various hyper-sonic vehicles and missiles, esp rather large ones. Because scramjet engines can't start from standstill, they effectively require conventional engines to reach operational velocities and altitudes anyway, carrying the weight of those extra engines. Two stage air-breathing hyper-sonic vehicles would be possible with this platform for point to point travel. Or conventional rockets for point to point, although carrying oxidizer would probably make the payload capacity smaller and mean less seats for passengers. So sort of a scaled up version of White Knight 2/SpaceShip 2.

Winged, horizontal landing/take-off stages on such a vehicle mean it can probably fly and land from conventional facilities avoiding building new complex launch infrastructure, avoid bad weather and closing down air-space around the launch site. These may be very desirable characteristics for a transport system that sends people rapidly around the world.

Also, Boost-glide weapons also require a solid rocket to get to the required velocity, so that's not a giant leap from air-launch of Pegasus rockets that this platform was intended to perform. It could launch multiple hypersonic missiles from a mobile platform. There's some advantages to that over a fixed platform or an expensive nuclear submarine.

Perhaps the unnamed investors include the DoD through In-Q-Tel or some front company! Wild speculation on my part.

This is what I thought is the most likely plan.  I have seen no evidence that this is the case.  I have seen nothing that rules it out.  I don't see launching satellites from this aircraft as commercially viable.  Hypersonic weapons and point to point travel are some real potential emerging markets.  A test bed for various components makes a lot of sense.  It is capable of launching much bigger vehicles than the B-52 that has been used for other tests.  But until they tell us what they are doing it is just another wild guess.  And they also may have thought of something no one else has mentioned on here.

To heap speculation (hypersonic test bed) on top of speculation (Northrop Grumman), a quick google showed that NG is involved in a hypersonic weapon research program as well as a turbine-base combined cycle engine research program.

From https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/28580/northrop-and-raytheon-have-been-secretly-working-on-scamjet-powered-hypersonic-missile:

Northrop Grumman and Raytheon have revealed that they have been working together on a scramjet-powered hypersonic cruise missile, which uses an engine that is entirely 3D-printed. Their design is competing against one from Lockheed Martin under the Defense Advanced Research Project's Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapon Concept program, or HAWC.

The two companies publicly announced their partnership at the 2019 Paris Air Show on June 18, 2019, but they have been working together secretly for years on HAWC

and

DARPA is separately working on a hybrid engine that combines the features of a traditional jet turbine with that of a ramjet or scramjet under the Advanced Full Range Engine (AFRE) program.

Orbital ATK, and now Northrop Grumman, is working on the AFRE effort.

[starchasercowboy]

Maybe NGIS got the 2 Pegasus rockets back for money owed to NGIS.  Maybe same situation for Roc, to Scaled Composites.  Usually rockets have milestones for payments and maybe Vulcan paid into Roc but not all the money through flight test, design of the pylon, equipment in the Roc for the rocket such as nitrogen, payload monitoring instruments, FAA certification and finally launching a Pegasus.

[Yazata]

From the TMRO video, I think that person is insinuating Northrop Grumman is the new owner.  Or maybe I misunderstood his clues.

I'd be moved more by information about projects that Northrop is working on or contemplating that might require a heavy air-launch vehicle. If Northrop Grumman actually anticipates an ongoing need for its services, then the fact that they are already familiar with Stratolaunch through Scaled might start to suggest something.

Edit: Dwheeler's post above adds to the intrigue.
 

[Comga]

A bit of dot connecting here @5:47
Interesting speculation...

His business insights are matched only by his hairstyle choice.

[libra]

The case that Stratolaunch is a bad investment has been made over and over in more than 100 pages of this thread.  There's no point in repeating it.  It's enough to point out that your claim that there is no evidence is incorrect.

Since you don't know what the plans of the new investors are, there is no evidence that anything in this thread even applies.

There's no evidence it doesn't apply either... Wishful thinking is not enough, although that may power some of the investors too. (for now)

The fact that this is funded by a group of investors rather than an aerospace giant just makes it more likely they were sold the Brooklyn bridge. A lot of funding goes to bad projects. A project getting some funding and a limited lifeline is NOT proof of success.

ROTFL

[Eric Hedman]

This speculation is getting interesting.  Any of the companies working on hypersonic weapons could be the investor or investors.  Another possibility is someone invested potentially marketing use of the aircraft to any of the players.  If these possibilities are where this is going, much of the work will be classified.  We might not hear much out of them for a long time.  If they stay quiet then these possibilities become more likely.  Damn we live in interesting times!  I love it.