Roc Begets Speed Metal
On 28 October 2022, Stratolaunch commenced infight testing of its Talon-A prototype. Roc, the Stratolaunch carrier-aircraft, bore the unmanned Talon-A test-vehicle (TA-0) into the azure vastness above California's Mojave Desert, thereby proving itself and its amidships attachment pylon capable of carrying the experimental hypersonic vehicles upon which Stratolaunch’s business model is predicated. The flight, Roc’s eighth, lasted just over five-hours, reaching a maximum altitude of FL230 (7,000 m), and reportedly meeting the entirety of its engineering, performance, and telemetric objectives.