Stratolaunch: General Company and Development Updates and Discussions

[sdsds]

Tail number still N744VG?

[Ken the Bin]

From today's USCG District 11 weekly Local Notice to Mariners ...

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA-VANDENBERG-HAZARDOUS OPERATIONS-STATOLAUNCH
Hazardous operations will be conducted by Stratolaunch and the Western Range W9358 from 7:00am (1500Z) until 1:00pm (2100Z). Recurring daily on 10, 11, and 12 February 2024. Hazardous operation areas are bounded by the following coordinates:
Hazard Area:
34-25-01N 122-36-00W
34-24-00N 122-42-00W
35-28-01N 123-16-01W
36-05-10N 123-28-01W
36-15-07N 123-26-02W
36-13-59N 123-02-02W
35-51-00N 122-28-59W
35-13-01N 121-54-00W
34-25-01N 122-36-00W
(CLOSING THE FIRST POINT)
Mariners are advised to remain clear of these areas for the duration of operations. For more details or comments contact Stratolaunch at [email protected] and 661-584-2365 or on VHF-FM Chan. 06 or 16 during mission.

The same notice appears in today's USCG District 11 weekly Local Notice to Mariners except that the date is now just "on 12 February, 2024."

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA-VANDENBERG-HAZARDOUS OPERATIONS-STATOLAUNCH
Hazardous operations will be conducted by Stratolaunch and the Western Range W9358 from 7:00am (1500Z) until 1:00pm (2100Z) on 12 February, 2024. Hazardous operation areas are bounded by the following coordinates:
Hazard Area:
34-25-01N 122-36-00W
34-24-00N 122-42-00W
35-28-01N 123-16-01W
36-05-10N 123-28-01W
36-15-07N 123-26-02W
36-13-59N 123-02-02W
35-51-00N 122-28-59W
35-13-01N 121-54-00W
34-25-01N 122-36-00W
(CLOSING THE FIRST POINT)
Mariners are advised to remain clear of these areas for the duration of operations. For more details or comments contact Stratolaunch at [email protected] and 661-584-2365 or on VHF-FM Chan. 06 or 16 during mission.

[Ken the Bin]

The notice in today's USCG District 11 weekly Local Notice to Mariners is the same as last week's (see previous post).

[FutureSpaceTourist]

https://twitter.com/stratolaunch/status/1755991205081444567

The Stratolaunch propulsion team recently conducted their 10th successful Hotfire engine test for our Talon A-1 engine as it prepares for its first powered flight. Stay tuned for more updates as the Stratolaunch team continues to push the boundaries of hypersonic innovation.

[Ken the Bin]

This event is now on the FAA ATCSCC Current Operations Plan Advisory (usual caveats apply).

https://www.fly.faa.gov/adv/adv_spt.jsp

STRATOLAUNCH,SPACEPORT 9NM9, NEW MEXICO
PRIMARY:        02/12/24        1430Z-2300Z
BACKUP:         02/24/24        1430Z-2300Z
                02/25/24        1430Z-2300Z

Note that this includes two Backup Days (well after the Primary Day) that are not included in the USCG notice.

[Zoomit]

That FAA notice is peculiar.  Shouldn't it be Mojave not Spaceport America?  Wonder if someone in the FAA cut and paste from a VG notice.

[Ken the Bin]

There's also this NGA Hazardous Operations notice from a couple of days ago which I didn't catch because it's a generic Hazardous Operations notice, combined with the fact that I don't have the Stratolaunch event on my master schedule.

But Alex posted about the notice on X just a little while ago, so here it is. Note that the dates do not agree with the FAA Current Operations Plan Advisory.

The NGA notice is official. The FAA COPA (unlike FAA TFRs) is just advisory. (That's why I included "usual caveats apply". The FAA COPA is often incorrect and/or incomplete.)

081001Z FEB 24
NAVAREA XII 64/24(18).
EASTERN NORTH PACIFIC.
CALIFORNIA.
1. HAZARDOUS OPERATIONS 121500Z TO 122300Z FEB, 
   ALTERNATE 1500Z TO 2300Z DAILY 13 THRU 15 FEB
   IN AREA BOUND BY
   33-40.00N 119-21.00W, 33-47.00N 119-30.00W,
   33-48.00N 120-00.00W, 33-22.00N 120-18.00W,
   33-11.00N 120-09.00W, 33-11.00N 119-30.00W.
2. CANCEL THIS MSG 160001Z FEB 24.//

[QuantumG]

Some info on Talon-A

https://www.aerospace-technology.com/projects/talon-a-hypersonic-vehicle/

Better access to the hypersonic environment (aka Mach 5 to 6) is a great research market, and a self-returning rocket-powered vehicle is pretty cool too. Can't wait to see what comes next!

Scaled Composites racing with Skylon, who picked that one? Info on that front:

https://www.aerosociety.com/news/on-the-record-with-mark-thomas-ceo-reaction-engines/

They're too busy commercialising their precooler to do hypersonics research 

[Ken the Bin]

The FAA Current Operations Plan Advisory, which had February 12 as Primary with February 24 and 25 as Backups, now has February 24 as Primary and February 24 as Backup.

https://www.fly.faa.gov/adv/adv_spt.jsp

STRATOLAUNCH, MOJAVE AIR AND SPACE PORT, CA
PRIMARY:        02/24/24        1430Z-2300Z
BACKUP:         02/25/24        1430Z-2300Z

The NGA notice had February 12 as Primary and February 13 to 15 as Backups:

081001Z FEB 24
NAVAREA XII 64/24(18).
EASTERN NORTH PACIFIC.
CALIFORNIA.
1. HAZARDOUS OPERATIONS 121500Z TO 122300Z FEB, 
   ALTERNATE 1500Z TO 2300Z DAILY 13 THRU 15 FEB
   IN AREA BOUND BY
   33-40.00N 119-21.00W, 33-47.00N 119-30.00W,
   33-48.00N 120-00.00W, 33-22.00N 120-18.00W,
   33-11.00N 120-09.00W, 33-11.00N 119-30.00W.
2. CANCEL THIS MSG 160001Z FEB 24.//

That notice has been canceled as Operations Completed.

130038Z FEB 24
NAVAREA XII 76/24(18).
CALIFORNIA
CANCEL NAVAREA XII 64/24 AND THIS MSG,
OPERATIONS COMPLETED.

It seems that someone is confused (besides me, I mean). 🤪

[catdlr]

https://twitter.com/Stratolaunch/status/1758144297902260452

Visit our website today to explore the exciting job opportunities available at Stratolaunch!
https://buff.ly/48oW42J

[bobthemonkey]

Interesting thread on X/Twitter. 

Roc appears to be lying racetracks off the Californian coast with the Talon hypersonic vehicle in the company of range control assets and at least one of the HALO tracking aircraft from the MDA.

https://twitter.com/M51_4ever/status/1761465508782563425

[catdlr]

https://twitter.com/SpaceIntel101/status/1761563074266349631

Test flight of @Stratolaunch went for a (air)walk with the TA-1 test vehicle.

[catdlr]

https://twitter.com/Stratolaunch/status/1763364896517828752

Last weekend, the team accomplished its second successful captive carry flight of Talon-A, bringing the team closer to its goal of conducting powered flight. Exciting advancements are happening at Stratolaunch in the pursuit of a hypersonic flight test!

https://buff.ly/3IcucmZ

Article Direct Link: https://www.stratolaunch.com/news/stratolaunch-completes-second-captive-carry-ta1/

[FutureSpaceTourist]

https://twitter.com/stuck4ger/status/1766493612458627240

@Stratolaunch ROC aircraft is airborne and headed towards the Pacific Ocean! Will Talon will go hypersonic today? globe.adsbexchange.com/?icao=a3ea1f

twitter.com/stuck4ger/status/1766527548232470904

I’m hearing hypersonic achieved! Yay @Stratolaunch !!!!

https://twitter.com/stuck4ger/status/1766532753271439436

Of course now that’s going to raise the definition of is <Mach 5 really hypersonic? IMO, the important thing is it’s a heck of a first flight for a small company.

[panjabi]

https://twitter.com/Stuck4ger/status/1766528081622118526

Mr. Anderson:  Looks like they had a different Citation and an L39 for that. Also looks like it either happened or they are scrubbing....

Forger Stucky:  Mach 4+!

[FutureSpaceTourist]

https://www.stratolaunch.com/news/stratolaunch-celebrates-first-powered-flight-of-ta1/

PRESS RELEASES March 9, 2024
Stratolaunch Celebrates First Powered Flight of TA-1 Test Vehicle
Source: Stratolaunch

MOJAVE, CA – MARCH 9, 2024 – Stratolaunch, LLC is pleased to announce it has successfully completed the first powered flight of the Talon-A test vehicle, TA-1. This first flight represents a major milestone in the development of the country's first privately funded, reusable hypersonic test capability.

Primary objectives for the flight test included accomplishing safe air-launch release of the TA-1 vehicle, engine ignition, acceleration, sustained climb in altitude, and a controlled water landing.

Today was a great day for the Stratolaunch team. I am extremely proud of their perseverance to reach this point. The successful outcome of the test is a direct result of the team’s technical prowess and professionalism

Dr. Zachary Krevor
President and CEO of Stratolaunch

“While I can’t share the specific altitude and speed TA-1 reached due to proprietary agreements with our customers, we are pleased to share that in addition to meeting all primary and customer objectives of the flight, we reached high supersonic speeds approaching Mach 5 and collected a great amount of data at an incredible value to our customers,” said Dr. Krevor. “Our goal with this flight was to continue our risk reduction approach for TA-2’s first reusable flight and be steadfast on our commitment of delivering maximum value to our customers. We are excited to review the data from today’s test and use it as we plan our next steps toward TA-2’s first flight later this year."

Concurrent to TA-1 testing, Stratolaunch is progressing on the manufacturing of TA-3, the second fully reusable vehicle in that Talon-A product line. The company is also beginning modifications to its additional launch platform, the Spirit of Mojave, a modified Boeing 747-400.   

The company will hold a virtual press conference today, March 9 at 2:30 p.m. PST to review the initial results of the flight and take questions from members of the press. Interested media outlets can join the conference via Zoom by clicking here.

[FutureSpaceTourist]

A few stills from the video embedded in the press release linked in the previous post.

Edit to add:

https://twitter.com/nasaspaceflight/status/1766588453188169782

First powered flight for Talon-A.

[ShinodaChan]

I'm with Stucky on this one. The important thing is that they had what appears to be a successful test flight after a long, long campaign of testing Roc. It's been a lot of baby steps, but they're steadily figuring it out as they go.

[JAFO]

The world's largest airplane launches a vehicle to over Mach 4 on the first try and you guys aren't happy?

Tough crowd!

[panjabi]

I'm with Stucky on this one. The important thing is that they had what appears to be a successful test flight after a long, long campaign of testing Roc. It's been a lot of baby steps, but they're steadily figuring it out as they go.

The world's largest airplane launches a vehicle to over Mach 4 on the first try and you guys aren't happy?

Tough crowd!

I agree! For an outside observer like me, this is an unqualified success on their first attempt. I do not know what they promised their customer, but to achieve speeds "near Mach 5", without a RUD (seems like there was none) is commendable on their first try.