Second Hypersonic Flight Of Stratolaunch TA-2 Concluded Stratolaunch is back in the news with the successful completion of the second hypersonic flight as well as the recovery of the Talon A2 (TA-2) in March 2025. In previous articles you may remember the focus was on TA-1 test vehicle. Now they have moved on to the TA-2 with successful tests completed in the latest round of testing. The latest test has followed the successful first hypersonic flight of Talon-A2 in December 2024 confirming the demonstrated reusability of the vehicle. The vehicle surpassed Mach 5 during its trajectory for the second time, exceeding the previous speed record set with the December flight.
"With the data collected from this second flight, we are able to apply lessons learned to enhance the strength and performance of the Talon-A vehicles. While the team needs to complete its data review of flight two, the first flight review confirmed the robustness of the Talon-A design while demonstrating the ability to meet the full range of performance capabilities desired by our customers. We’ve now demonstrated hypersonic speed, added the complexity of a full runway landing with prompt payload recovery, and proven reusability. Both flights were great achievements for our country, our company, and our partners", said Dr. Zachary Krevor, President and CEO of Stratolaunch.
Supporting the United States’ defense initiatives, Stratolaunch is focused on expanding its hypersonic flight testing and ensuring the long-term sustainability of reusable hypersonic testbeds. These completed flights demonstrate the United States’ return to reusable hypersonic flight test since the X-15 program ended in 1968. "I am in awe of what this team has achieved. We’ve executed four incredible Talon-A flights, completed twenty-four Roc flights to date, flew two new supersonic and hypersonic airplanes in a single year, and we are firmly on the path to making hypersonic flight test services a reality," Krevor said.
Stratolaunch performed the flights for the Test Resource Management Center (TRMC) Multi-Service Advanced Capability Hypersonic Test Bed (MACH-TB) program under a partnership with Leidos. The MACH-TB program is intended to increase the speed of testing for all commercially available hypersonic systems. This was the second Stratolaunch flight completed on behalf of the program. For more information: Stratolaunch HQ 555 Riccomini St, Mojave, CA 93501 www.stratolaunch.com ***
