An experimental aircraft designed to test hypersonic flight capabilities successfully completed its first powered test flight off the Central Coast.
Stratolaunch flew its unmanned TA-1 test vehicle off the coast Saturday. The unmanned craft was carried aloft under the wing of a giant aircraft where it was launched mid-air. It had been carried aloft before, but this was the first powered flight for the TA-1.
The company is developing a series of reusable unmanned aircraft for use in hypersonic flight testing. A hypersonic flight exceeds five times the speed of sound.
The company's flights take off from an airport in the Mojave Desert, but use a flight test area off of Vandenberg Space Force Base.
