Stratolaunch spotted in the Mojave Desert.
Stratolaunch Systems, better known as Stratolaunch, is an aerospace company founded in 2011 by billionaire and entrepreneur Paul Allen, which until October 2019 was part of Vulcan inc, which commissioned Scaled Composites to build the world's largest wingspan aircraft to launch air-to-orbit launchers. After Allen's death in 2018, the company ran into financial difficulties and had to lay off most of its staff. The company has since been rebuilt after being taken over by investment firm Cerberus.
The Scaled Composites Stratolaunch is a six-engine, twin-hull aircraft designed to launch up to three light launchers or a heavier launcher from an altitude of 13 kilometres from below the centre wing. Because of its size, the Stratolaunch is capable of launching more or larger missiles than the aircraft of competitors Northrop Grumman and Virgin Orbit, which use a similar launch method.
This picture was taken on 3 October 2025 at Mojave Airport.
I am Jaap van den Berg and photography has become a great passion of mine since 2010. Since then I travel all over the world to take pictures of military aircrafts. But besides aircraft I also love to photograph other subjects like landscapes, architecture, flowers, animals, .. Read more…