Stratolaunch used its Boeing 747-400 carrier aircraft “Spirit of Mojave” to conduct a hypersonic flight test mission for the US Missile Defense Agency (MDA), marking another operational use of the former Virgin Orbit aircraft.
According to the company, the mission took place on March 6 from Mojave Air and Space Port in California and involved the transport of the Talon-A3 hypersonic vehicle to its release point at high altitude.
The Talon-A3 is part of Stratolaunch’s reusable hypersonic test vehicle program, developed to support military and industry research into high-speed flight technologies.
Stratolaunch said the Boeing 747-400 enabled the vehicle to begin its flight profile under planned launch conditions before separation.
The aircraft used in the mission previously flew as “Cosmic Girl” for Virgin Orbit, where it served as the launch platform for LauncherOne satellite missions.
Virgin Orbit ceased operations in 2023 after a failed satellite launch from the United Kingdom and subsequent financial collapse. Stratolaunch later acquired the aircraft for US$17 million during the bankruptcy asset auction and renamed it “Spirit of Mojave.”
Unlike Virgin Orbit, Stratolaunch is not using the aircraft for orbital launch missions. Instead, the 747 has been adapted to support the company’s hypersonic flight test operations alongside the Roc aircraft.
The Roc remains the world’s largest aircraft by wingspan and was originally developed as an air-launch platform for space missions. The twin-fuselage jet now supports Stratolaunch’s hypersonic testing activities together with the Boeing 747-400.
Stratolaunch said the Talon-A family is intended to provide reusable test platforms capable of collecting data in high-speed flight environments as the United States expands hypersonic weapons and defense research programs.
