The first successful flight of an unmanned hypersonic vehicle off the coast of California

Angels. US aerospace company Stratolaunch conducted the first powered test flight of a new unmanned spacecraft for hypersonic research on Saturday, calling it a success.

Hypersonic means flying at a speed of at least Mach 5, five times the speed of sound.

The Talon-A-1 vehicle “has reached hypersonic speeds near Mach 5 and has collected a wealth of data of incredible value to our customers,” CEO Zachary Crevor said in a statement..

Crevor said he could not reveal the exact height and speed due to proprietary agreements with customers.

The company's massive six-engined Roc plane lifted the Talon aloft, attached it to the center of its giant wing, and then launched it off the central coast of California.

The Talon, powered by a liquid rocket engine, ended its journey by landing in the ocean as planned. Although this Talon was expendable, a future version will be able to land on the runway to be reused.

Stratolaunch said the primary objectives of the flight included safe launch of the vehicle into the air, engine ignition, acceleration, sustained climb to altitude, and controlled landing on water.

The company described the result as a major milestone in the development of the first privately funded, reusable hypersonic testing capability in the United States.

Stratolaunch conducted two prisoner transfer flights, in December and February, during which the Talon was lifted with live fuel, but not released from the mother ship.

Stratolaunch is headquartered at the Mojave Air and Space Port, in the Mojave Desert, north of Los Angeles.

The Rock plane, which takes its name from a huge mythical bird, has a wingspan of 117 metres, and has double fuselages that give the impression of two large planes flying side by side.

It was developed by Microsoft co-founder Paul G. Allen, who died just months before it first flew in April 2019.

Allen intended to use it as a space launch aircraft, carrying rockets loaded with satellites under the center of the wing and launching them at high altitudes.

This project was cancelled, and the new owners reused Stratolaunch to launch reusable hypersonic research vehicles.

Stratolaunch has announced flight contracts with the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory and the Navy's Multi-Service Advanced Capabilities Test Bed Program, as a subcontractor to technology company Leidos, of Reston, Virginia.