{"id":18402,"date":"2018-08-12T21:24:02","date_gmt":"2018-08-12T13:24:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/paul-allens-stratolaunch-venture-rolls-out-worlds-biggest-airplane-for-weekend-tests\/"},"modified":"2018-08-12T21:24:02","modified_gmt":"2018-08-12T13:24:02","slug":"paul-allens-stratolaunch-venture-rolls-out-worlds-biggest-airplane-for-weekend-tests","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/paul-allens-stratolaunch-venture-rolls-out-worlds-biggest-airplane-for-weekend-tests\/","title":{"rendered":"Paul Allen\u2019s Stratolaunch venture rolls out world\u2019s biggest airplane for weekend tests"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Stratolaunch
Stratolaunch\u2019s giant airplane sits on the tarmac at California\u2019s Mojave Air and Space Port. (Stratolaunch Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Stratolaunch, the launch venture created by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, took the world\u2019s biggest airplane out of its hangar this weekend at California\u2019s Mojave Air and Space Port and revved up its engines in preparation for the next step toward shooting rockets into space from midair.<\/p>\n

The rocket-launching part is still a year or two away, but Stratolaunch is aiming to put the 385-foot-wide, twin-fuselage plane through its first test flight within the next couple of months.<\/p>\n

In order to do that, the test program calls for flying five on-the-ground runway taxi tests at increasing speeds. Two of those tests have been done already, and in a tweet on Friday, Stratolaunch CEO Jean Floyd hinted that the third runway race might be run this weekend:<\/p>\n

https:\/\/twitter.com\/WJeanFloyd\/status\/1027939392579485698<\/p>\n

The taxi test didn\u2019t end up happening this weekend, but Stratolaunch\u2019s team did put the plane through a couple of days\u2019 worth of fueling operations. full-power engine tests and communication tests. And folks in Mojave got a good look at the monster plane (which has carried the nickname \u201cRoc\u201d in honor of the giant bird of Eastern mythology). Here\u2019s aTwitter sampler:<\/p>\n