Stratolaunch Books AFRL Contract for Flight Test of 2nd Hypersonic Vehicle

The U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory has awarded Stratolaunch a contract to support the inaugural flight test of the company’s second reusable Talon-A hypersonic vehicle called TA-3.

The technology developer said Thursday the award came on the heels of a 2022 AFRL contract to facilitate the first flight of the initial configuration of the TA product line.

Zachary Krevor, president and CEO of Stratolaunch, welcomed the agency’s decision to back the TA-3 flight. He added the company is looking forward to increasing the cadence of its flight services.

TA vehicles are propelled by rockets and launched from the Roc aircraft. The vehicles operate autonomously and has the capability to carry customized payload experiments.

Stratolaunch started pursuing the development of the hypersonic vehicles in 2020.