The Stratolaunch System Carrier is officially the world’s largest airplane by wingspan.
With a wingspan of 385 feet (117 m), the Stratolaunch was unveiled this week. This truly massive plane sports six Boeing 747 engines, two separate cockpits, and can carry a payload of 550,000 lbs.
The Stratolaunch is the brainchild of Paul Allen who founded his company to build a plane that would make travel in low Earth orbit more accessible.
“Opening up access to (low Earth orbit) will deliver many benefits,” Allen said in a press released on LinkedIn in 2016. “For example, we could deploy more satellites that would enable better understanding of why our weather patterns are changing and help increase agricultural productivity. And, we could study atmospheric chemistry more closely to better study and mitigate climate change.”
Ground tests begin this week and the first flight is expected sometime in 2019.
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