Stratolaunch prepares for Roc’s first hypersonic flight with Talon-A launch

In Middle Eastern mythology, the Roc is a large bird, strong enough to carry an elephant in its talons. Stratolaunch’s massive Roc aircraft, named after the griffin-like creature, can carry as much as 500,000 pounds of payload, the equivalent of more than 33 large elephants. Currently, the company is now preparing Roc to carry its Talon-A hypersonic test aircraft for its first hypersonic, or Mach 5, flight — potentially before the end of the year. The company has a nearly full manifest for 2024 and is already on contract to support five test flights for the Navy Surface Warfare Center’s Multiservice Advanced Capability Test Bed program or MACH-TB. Stratolaunch recently completed the purchase of a second carrier aircraft to help accommodate Talon-A demand, a Boeing 747 owned by Virgin Orbit before the company declared bankruptcy in the spring.