SEATTLE, WASHINGTON — The makers of the world's largest plane have recently unveiled exactly how it plans to deploy satellites into orbit.<br /><br />According to a Stratolaunch Systems press release, its planned lineup of launch vehicles includes the Pegasus rocket, two medium-lift rockets, and a space plane.<br /><br />The small-payload Pegasus XL has a 370-kilogram capacity for either single or triple configuration.<br /><br />The Medium Launch Vehicle, or MLV, has a capacity of 3,400 kilograms. A three-core variant called the MLV-Heavy is being developed to carry nearly twice as much.<br /><br />The reusable space plane, codenamed 'Black Ice', is presently just a design study. It's meant to carry cargo to and from Earth, though a follow-on variant will be crew-capable.<br /><br />Rather than blasting off a launchpad, the rockets will be tethered to a massive twin-fuselage carrier, which boasts a wingspan of 385 feet. Once the plane gets to an altitude of 35,000 feet, the rockets drop and blast off into orbit.<br /><br />Assuming everything goes smoothly for Stratolaunch, we might be able to see the first Pegasus rocket launch by 2020, followed by the MLV in 2022.<br /><br />So far, the main aircraft carrier has done a taxi test, but has yet to go up in the air. It will also need to be tested and fitted for the rockets.<br /><br />All in all, seems like the company's got a lot of work to do.
