U.S. aerospace company Stratolaunch conducted the first powered test flight of a new unmanned craft for hypersonic research on Saturday and called it a success. Hypersonic describes flights at speeds of at least Mach 5, or five times the speed of sound. Chief Executive Officer Zachary Krevor said in a statement that the Talon-A-1 vehicle “reached high supersonic speeds approaching Mach 5 and collected a great amount of data at an incredible value to our customers.
The company called the result a major milestone in the development of the United States' first privately funded, reusable hypersonic test capability. Stratolaunch conducted two captive-carry flights, in December and February, in which the Talon was taken aloft with live propellant but was not released from the mothership. Stratolaunch is based at Mojave Air and Space Port in the Mojave Desert north of Los Angeles.