The world’s largest aircraft needs a ginormous place to live, and that’s exactly what Paul Allen’s Stratolaunch has built.
Stratolaunch Systems, the commercial space venture backed by the Microsoft co-founder, just opened a new hangar for the world’s largest plane that is set to launch into space by 2016. The 103,257 square-foot hangar is based in Mojave, Calif., at the Mojave Air and Space Port, and will house Stratolaunch’s aircraft during assembly and testing stages.
The aircraft weighs 1.3 million pounds, has six 747 engines and a wingspan greater than the length of a football field. It is designed to launch rockets into space from 30,000 feet in the air.
Gary Wentz, CEO and president of Stratolaunch Systems, said that the hangar will “keep momentum going so that we can hit our first test flight in 2016.”
Stratolaunch, which is based in Huntsville, Ala., also recently redesigned the look of the aircraft, which you can see below. This comes after the company cut ties in December with one of its high-profile partners, SpaceX.
[Thanks to Isaac Alexander for the tip.]
