In this website we are usually focused on air cargo, but today we look up a bit higher, and think about “thin air” cargo. Or even “no air” cargo.
We first reported on Stratolaunch Systems in 2011 when it was just a gleam in Paul Allen’s eye. Since then, progress on the company’s planned aerial launch system has been a closely guarded secret, but earlier this year US TV station KGET was allowed into the Stratolaunch facility at the Mojave Air and Spaceport – and not only the Stratolaunch facility, but into the labs and construction hangars of half a dozen other companies all working toward the goal of lifting cargo (and wealthy tourists) into space.
In the case of Stratolaunch, the “cargo” is a multi-stage rocket suspended between twin fuselages. The rocket will be capable of delivering a 6.1 tonne payload into low earth orbit.
Here is the the KGET feature
And here is a short video produced by Stratolaunch