Skalerede kompositter Model 348 - Billeder og videoer

Den Skalerede kompositter Model 348 White Knight Two (WK2) is a quadjet cargo aircraft that is used to lift the SpaceShipTwo spacecraft to release altitude. It was developed by Scaled Composites from 2007 to 2010 as the first stage of Tier 1b, a two-stage to suborbital-space manned launch system. WK2 is based on the successful mothership to SpaceShipOne, White Knight, which itself is based on Proteus. With an “open architecture” design and explicit plans for multi-purpose use, the aircraft could also operate as a zero-g aircraft for passenger training or microgravity science flights, handle missions in high-altitude testing more generally, or be used to launch payloads other than SpaceShipTwo. A study of use of the aircraft as a forest fire water bomber has also been mentioned, one that would utilize a large carbon composite water tank that could be quickly replenished to make repeat runs over fires.

Kilde: Scaled Composites Model 348 på Wikipedia

Den Skalerede kompositter Model 348 is a twin-fuselage aircraft designed and built by Scaled Composites, a subsidiary of Northrop Grumman. The aircraft is intended to serve as a carrier for the Stratolaunch air launch system, which aims to launch orbital rockets from high altitude. The Model 348 has a wingspan of 117 m (385 ft), making it the largest aircraft by wingspan ever flown. It is powered by six Pratt & Whitney PW4056 turbofan engines, each producing 252 kN (56,750 lbf) of thrust.
Flyet kan bære en nyttelast på op til 250,000 kg (550,000 lb) og har en maksimal startvægt på 589,670 kg (1.3 millioner lb). Model 348 foretog sin første flyvning den 13. april 2019 og har siden udført flere testflyvninger for at evaluere dens ydeevne og håndteringsegenskaber. Flyet forventes at begynde at affyre raketter i midten af 2020'erne, hvor den første kunde er Orbital ATK, som planlægger at bruge Stratolaunch-systemet til at lancere sine Pegasus XL-raketter.