The six-engine plane has a wingspan of 385 feet which is longer than the length of a football field
Stratolaunch is designed to carry rockets between its two fuselages before they launch into space from air
Firm fired up the aircraft’s six Pratt & Whitney turbofan engines for its first taxi down the runway at 28mph
DailyMailUK
The world’s biggest plane is a step closer to its first flight, after passing another major milestone.
Named Stratolaunch, the colossal aircraft travelled down the runway
under its own power for the first time, firing all six of its Pratt and
Whitney turbofan engines – each weighing 8,940lbs (4,000kg).
During the aircraft’s first low-speed taxi test, Stratolaunch successfully travelled down the runway at 25 knots (28mph/45km/h).
Once testing has been completed, the aircraft – which has a wingspan
longer than a football field – will be used to launch satellites and
other objects into space.
This could include a Dream Chaser spaceship, which could act as a
mini-shuttle to reach low Earth orbit destinations and return astronauts
or payloads to a runway within 24 hours.
It is expected to take the skies for the first time in 2019.
The primary purpose of the test was to put the aircraft¿s ability to
steer and stop through its paces. A ground team from Stratolaunch
Systems Corp monitored a number of systems, including steering, braking,
anti-skid and telemetry
