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above. Fighters could be both launched and retrieved this way, giving the airship the speed and striking power of fixed-wing craft, while giving the fighters the range and lingering time of an airship. With advances in airplane technology, especially in range, the value of a dirigible mothership was reduced and the concept became obsolete.
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conducted 20 test flights. The last one reached space, but without commercial crew onboard. On 11 July 2021, SpaceShipTwo launched 6 people to space. 2 were pilots and the rest tourists. Virgin
Galactic repeatedly announced plans to refly the SpaceShipTwo. These plans have been delayed by more than a
95:
During the development of the Space
Shuttle orbiter in the 1970s, NASA used two modified Boeing 747 airliners, known as the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, to launch the Space Shuttle Enterprise, a crewed atmospheric test vehicle used to test the orbiter's approach and landing capabilities. These aircraft
87:
Air launch is the standard way to launch air-to-surface missiles and air-to-air missiles and is mainly used for rocket-powered craft, allowing them to conserve their fuel until lifted to altitude by a larger aircraft. The B-29, B-50, and B-52 have all served in the carrier role for research programs
83:
The parasite fighter concept was later revived several times, in an attempt to solve the problem of how to protect bombers from fighter attack. The
Convair B-36 was used to air launch several prototype fighters for defense, but none offered performance that could match ground-launched fighters. Even
79:
One of the earliest uses of air launching used an airship as a carrier and docking station for biplane parasite fighters. These planes would connect to their mothership through a trapeze-like rig, mounted to the top of the upper wing, that attached to a hook dangling from the bottom of the dirigible
99:
The
Pegasus launch vehicle became the first air-launched orbital rocket when it was launched on April 5, 1990 by the private company Orbital Sciences Corporation (now a part of Northrop Grumman), from a NASA-owned B-52 Stratofortress. It has flown more than 40 times since, launched mostly from the
91:
In the 1960s the SR-71 aircraft was used to launch the
Lockheed D-21/M-21 drone to speeds of up to Mach 3. However, this added a degree of difficulty due to the shock wave pattern around an aircraft at supersonic speeds. After three successful tests, the fourth resulted in a collision with the
103:
In the early 2000s, the B-52 was used to launch the X-43 hypersonic testbed aircraft. Recently, the air launch method has gained popularity with commercial launch providers. The Ansari X-Prize $ 10 million purse was won by a team led by Burt Rutan and Paul Allen for the successful launch of
58:
or launch aircraft. The payload craft or missile is often tucked under the wing of the larger mother ship and then "dropped" while in flight. It may also be stored within a bomb bay, beneath the main fuselage or even on the back of the carrier aircraft, as in the case of the
100:
company's own
Lockheed L-1011 known as Stargazer. Orbital Sciences was developing the Pegasus II launcher that would have dropped from the purpose-built Scaled Composites Stratolaunch. Pegasus's capacity to low Earth orbit was projected to be 13,500 pounds (6,100 kg).
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63:. Air launching provides several advantages over ground launching, giving the smaller craft an altitude and range boost, while saving it the weight of the fuel and equipment needed to take off on its own.
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and VSS Inspire are planned. In 2022, Virgin
Galactic announced plans for the new Delta-class launch vehicle. This would be able to reach orbit. It is expected to launch in 2026.
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the largest bomber ever mass-produced was too small a mothership for the jet age. Docking also presented its own plethora of problems.
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carrier aircraft, in which both craft were destroyed and one crew member drowned. The project was subsequently abandoned.
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were subsequently used throughout the Space
Shuttle Program to transport the shuttles across long distances.
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750:"What's next for Virgin Galactic? CEO discusses flight plans in earnings call - Albuquerque Journal"
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year and a half. It is currently expected to fly no earlier than the second quarter of 2023.
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701:"In photos: Virgin Galactic's 1st fully crewed spaceflight with billionaire Richard Branson"
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874:"Virgin Galactic Delta Six-Passenger Spaceship to Enter Production in 2023, Bell on Deck"
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357:"That time the Air Force designed a tiny fighter jet to launch from strategic bombers"
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flew 35 flights successfully from 2010 to 2014. However, on 31 October 2014, the
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726:"Meet the crew launching on Virgin Galactic's 1st fully crewed flight Unity 22"
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800:"Meet VSS Imagine: Virgin Galactic unveils its first SpaceShip III spacecraft"
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144:
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23:
17:
1110:
918:
824:"Virgin Galactic unveils its first 'SpaceShip III' suborbital spacecraft"
849:"Virgin Galactic Announces Primary Suppliers for Delta Class Spaceships"
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602:
47:
383:"З літака у космос. Історія та перспективи систем повітряного старту"
43:
70:
22:
407:"Parasite Fighters: 40 Years Were Spent Trying To Make Them Work"
922:
911:
908:"AirLaunch LLC information on the QuickReach launcher project"
628:"Mojave Aerospace Ventures Wins The Competition That Started"
579:"Pegasus XL Launch Vehicle | National Air and Space Museum"
75:
A Sopwith Camel secured beneath the
British HM Airship 23r.
653:"Deadly SpaceShipTwo Crash Caused by Co-Pilot Error: NTSB"
115:
launch vehicle began launching. It was the successor the
281:"A Conceptual Analysis of Spacecraft Air Launch Methods"
143:
conducted it's maiden flight, which went smoothly. The
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twice in a row in two weeks, which were the criteria.
775:"Virgin Galactic in final phases of return to flight"
675:"Virgin Galactic rocket plane flies to edge of space"
119:
launch vehicle, which was retired in 2004. The first
603:"XPRIZE Foundation Ansari Prize | XPRIZE Foundation"
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139:was severely injured. In 2016, another ship, the
16:"airlaunch" redirects here. For the company, see
484:National Museum of the United States Air Force™
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306:"Lockheed D-21B Drone | The Museum of Flight"
131:in-flight after an unintentional feathering.
8:
31:being air launched from under the wing of a
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997:
969:
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927:
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253:Alireza Forouzandeh Tabrizi (May 2015).
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901:A Study of Air Launch Methods for RLVs
387:Журнал The Universemagazine Space Tech
381:Miroshnychenko, Yevhen (2022-12-21).
7:
351:
349:
14:
163:across the world. Two ships, the
54:or other aircraft payload from a
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1243:
1041:
234:List of Virgin Galactic launches
872:Patrascu, Daniel (2022-11-03).
724:Elizabeth Howell (2021-07-10).
555:"NASA - Pegasus: Countdown 101"
88:such as the Bell X-1 and X-15.
42:is the practice of releasing a
699:Space com Staff (2021-07-14).
1:
651:Tariq Malik (July 28, 2015).
161:point-to-point transportation
985:Pneumatic freestanding tower
528:Gibbs, Yvonne (2015-08-11).
260:. San Jose State University
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773:Foust, Jeff (2023-03-01).
530:"Shuttle Carrier Aircraft"
432:"Definition of AIR-LAUNCH"
15:
1222:
1039:
956:
204:Airborne aircraft carrier
1013:Momentum exchange tether
798:Mike Wall (2021-03-30).
504:"Creating the Blackbird"
286:. University of Colorado
1188:Beam-powered propulsion
1073:Endo-atmospheric tether
436:www.merriam-webster.com
1214:High-altitude platform
1132:Blast wave accelerator
950:Non-rocket spacelaunch
853:www.virgingalactic.com
456:"A-10C Thunderbolt II"
155:announced plans for a
76:
36:
1237:Megascale engineering
655:. Scientific American
553:KSC, Elaine Marconi.
279:Rebecca A. Mitchell.
214:Megascale engineering
159:. This would provide
129:vehicle was destroyed
74:
26:
1082:Projectile launchers
1272:Aircraft operations
828:SpaceFlight Insider
411:Disciples of Flight
199:Air launch to orbit
33:B-52 Stratofortress
1232:Rocket sled launch
1209:Buoyant space port
1051:Dynamic structures
754:www.abqjournal.com
583:airandspace.si.edu
361:Task & Purpose
209:Rocket sled launch
177:Composite aircraft
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37:
1277:Missile operation
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1001:Orbiting skyhooks
966:Static structures
480:"Lockheed SR-71A"
182:Parasite aircraft
52:parasite aircraft
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1183:Laser propulsion
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914:on 24 July 2011.
910:. Archived from
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135:was killed and
133:Michael Alsbury
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1063:Orbital ring
912:the original
881:. Retrieved
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830:. 2021-04-05
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681:. 2021-05-22
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559:www.nasa.gov
558:
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512:. Retrieved
510:. 2021-01-10
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413:. 2017-01-24
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363:. 2022-10-27
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262:. Retrieved
255:"Air Launch"
248:
224:SpaceShipTwo
219:SpaceShipOne
150:
121:SpaceShipTwo
117:SpaceShipOne
113:SpaceShipTwo
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106:SpaceShipOne
102:
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38:
1178:Spaceplanes
1101:Mass driver
1068:Launch loop
980:Space tower
973:Compressive
959:Spaceflight
903:(AIAA 2001)
229:LauncherOne
189:Mother ship
165:VSS Imagine
56:mother ship
29:Boeing X-43
1266:Categories
1173:Air launch
1153:Slingatron
1146:Mechanical
1089:Electrical
883:2023-04-09
858:2023-04-09
834:2023-04-09
809:2023-04-09
784:2023-04-09
759:2023-04-09
735:2023-04-09
710:2023-04-09
685:2023-04-09
637:2023-04-09
612:2023-04-09
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564:2023-04-09
539:2023-04-09
514:2023-04-09
489:2023-04-09
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441:2023-04-09
417:2023-04-09
392:2023-04-09
367:2023-04-09
339:2023-04-09
315:2023-04-09
240:References
61:D-21 drone
1127:Space gun
804:Space.com
779:SpaceNews
730:Space.com
705:Space.com
460:Air Force
290:April 11,
264:April 11,
151:In 2021,
145:VSS Unity
141:VSS Unity
18:AirLaunch
1282:Rocketry
1250:Category
1227:See also
1120:Chemical
1111:StarTram
679:BBC News
626:XPRIZE.
171:See also
1204:Balloon
1106:Railgun
1096:Coilgun
1008:Skyhook
994:Tensile
659:May 12,
67:History
48:missile
632:XPRIZE
607:XPRIZE
44:rocket
284:(PDF)
258:(PDF)
661:2023
534:NASA
292:2023
266:2023
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