The USA has tested the world's largest aircraft with a wingspan of 117 meters

The second test flight of the Roc, the world's largest aircraft with a wingspan of 117 meters, has successfully passed in the Mojave Desert in California, the Daily Mail reports. The plane took off, carrying a pylon on board to launch a hypersonic vehicle.

The creators of the aircraft, Stratolaunch, a company founded by Paul Allen, originally planned to use the Roc as a carrier aircraft for aerial launches of launch vehicles. However, then the concept changed, and the aircraft was repurposed to test equipment for hypersonic aircraft. According to the designers, three pylons will be located under the wing between the fuselages of the aircraft to launch Talon-A devices, which after the reset will be sent into free flight.

During the last launch, the first prototype of the Talon-A — TA-0 device was suspended from the pylon, created to test the reliability of the suspension and reset mechanisms. The second prototype, TA-1, will be able to fly, and the next, TA-2 and TA-3, are conceived as the first reusable hypersonic vehicles. Talon-A will be able to reach speeds up to Mach 6, that is, fly six times faster than the speed of sound. TA-1 tests are scheduled for the first half of 2023.

The aircraft is equipped with engines of the same type as the Boeing 747s, and develops a maximum speed of 853 km / h. The height of the aircraft is 15.2 m: its tail rises above the ground to the height of a four–story house. The crew will consist of three people: a pilot, a co-pilot and a flight engineer, whose seats are located in the right fuselage.