Stratolaunch, World’s Largest Aircraft, Taxiing on Runway During New Tests

The company currently developing the machine has released a new video, showing the double-fuselaged machine taxiing down a runway at the Mojave Air and Space Port in the weekend of February 24.

During the test, the plane managed to achieve ground speeds of 10-40 knots, way lower the average 130–155 knots commercial airliners achieve in order to take off, but still higher than the one achieved last December.

Still a long time away before being ready, the Stratolaunch uses six Pratt & Whitney Boeing 747 engines that will give it an operational range of 2,000 nautical miles.

When it will be fully operational by the end of this decade, as Paul G. Allen claims, the Stratolaunch, a carrier aircraft, will take off from a regular runway and then deliver various payloads to multiple orbits and inclinations via additional ships.

According to its creators, the system is much cheaper and easier to use than regular, vertical liftoff rockets, mainly because of its reusability. Plans are for the maiden flight to take place in 2019, following several years of ground testing.

First stage engine testing for the Stratolaunch was completed in 2017, and at the end of the year the first low-speed taxi test took place. The primary goal of the test was to see the aircraft’s ability to steer and stop.

“This was another exciting milestone for our team and the program,” George Bugg, aircraft program manager said at the time. "Our first low speed taxi test is a very important step toward first flight. We are all proud and excited.”