Massive air carrier tests launch off coast of Vandenberg. Are hypersonic flights next?

An odd-looking aircraft touted as the largest operating in the world helped successfully conduct a key test off the coast of Vandenberg Space Force Base near Lompoc on Saturday, and set the stage for a hypersonic flight later this year.

Stratolaunch, which is headquartered in Mojave, announced that its Roc carrier plane demonstrated that the Talon-A launch system can cleanly and safely separate hypersonic vehicles from the aircraft’s center-wing pylon.

The flight originated from the Mojave Air & Spaceport on Saturday morning before traveling west for the test.

Zachary Krevor, chief executive officer and president for Stratolaunch, shared the thrill of seeing the two vehicles “combined as one” take off for the test.

“I was thinking about how ideally only one vehicle will return, and if this flight was successful then our next release would be a hypersonic flight, establishing a capability our country desperately needs,” Krevor said. “It was a very exciting moment.”

The air-launched Talon-A has been designed as an autonomous reusable testbed that will allow future flight testing to be more accessible and affordable while flying super fast — Mach 5, or five times the speed of sound — to science and technology experiments.

Roc, which sports a dual-fuselage and a high-wing design with a wingspan extending 385 feet, is the namesake of an enormous legendary bird of prey.

In addition to the separation mechanism, the weekend test allowed the team to collect data on vehicle stabilization system, to complete approach and landing maneuvers and more.

The team will use the data to prepare for the TA-1 vehicle’s hypersonic test now expected in late fall, Krevor said Monday.

“It’s a very exciting time for our company, and we’re very pleased to be bringing on this very critical capability for our nation,” Krevor said.

While rocket launches and missile tests at Vandenberg draw the most attention, the Western Range regularly conducts a number of aeronautical missions off the Central Coast, nearly unnoticed by local residents.

Chief Technology Officer Daniel Millman, a retired U.S. Air Force pilot, said the team ticked off multiple test points, including a first time activating the pylon release system while flying.

“One of the things TA-O was able to do was get to a stabilized point where if it had a working rocket engine, that engine could ignite. That was a significant test point for us and we accomplished that,” Millman said.

As planned since it didn’t have a hypersonic engine to ignite, the TA-O safely maneuvered to an abort point before crashing into the ocean.

“As you can imagine, hitting the water at that height and great speed, not much of the vehicle was left,” he said, adding that the company sent a salvage ship to attempt to recover the pieces.

The abort was part of a planned sequence, and not a sign of a glitch.

“Overall, we received telemetry almost all the way down to the water,” Millman said, calling it “a very successful test for us.”

He added that the accomplishments meant the company could move on to the hypersonic flight.

Stratolaunch expects to sift through the data to further assess the performance before attempting another test.

When a slight glitch occurred upon separation, the vehicle corrected the problem to have a stable flight path, officials said.

“All primary objectives, secondary objectives, tertiary objectives, everything was accomplished,” said Scott Schultz, senior director of engineering. “It was really a fantastic day.

“It’s a big milestone that puts us on the doorstep of getting to our hypersonic flight mission.”

The flight was the 11th for the company’s launch Roc platform, and the second time the team has conducted flight operations in Vandenberg’s Western Range.

Stratolaunch representatives noted the strong support provided by members of Space Launch Delta 30, Vandenberg’s primary unit, leading up to and during the test.

“We’d like to express our gratitude for their team in providing critical data and telemetry, as well as just constant contact through this process,” Schultz said.

Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com .