---
title: "Watch the World’s Largest Aircraft Take Off in the Desert"
description: "Aerospace company Stratolaunch has managed to get its Roc aircraft, the world's largest plane, off the ground for the second time this morning."
date: "2021-04-29"
modified: "2021-04-29"
authors:
  - name: "Victor Tangermann"
    job_title: "Senior Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/worlds-largest-aircraft-take-off"
categories:
  - "Future Society"
tags:
  - "plane"
  - "stratolaunch"
  - "the digest"
---

# Watch the World’s Largest Aircraft Take Off in the Desert

![Aerospace company Stratolaunch has managed to get its Roc aircraft, the world's largest plane, off the ground for the second time this morning.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/worlds-largest-aircraft-take-off.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: Stratolaunch\</em\>*

## Lift Off

Aerospace company Stratolaunch has managed to get its Roc aircraft off the ground for the second time this morning.

The twin-fuselage aircraft, currently the jet with the world's widest wingspan at a colossal 385 feet, took to the skies over the Mojave desert in Southern California at about 7:30 am local time.

Journalists at the scene were able to witness the impressive launch first hand from the sidelines, a testament to the cutting edge of aerospace engineering.

https://twitter.com/thesheetztweetz/status/1387777613578612737?s=09

## Massive Wingspan

The gigantic plane is designed to launch more than one hypersonic rocket from a high altitude. Rockets being released from these heights require far less fuel to get into orbit.

https://twitter.com/Stratolaunch/status/1387811871944712194

A reusable hypersonic prototype vehicle capable of Mach 6 flights, called the Talon-A, is [already in development](<https://www.space.com/stratolaunch-begins-building-hypersonic-plane-prototype>).

The left fuselage is uncrewed, while the right fuselage accommodates both the pilot and the co-pilot. It's powered by six used Boeing 747 engines and weighs in at 500,000 pounds.

## The Roc

The beast was first [shown off back in 2017](<https://futurism.com/microsoft-co-founder-just-revealed-the-worlds-largest-plane>) by Stratolaunch founder (and Microsoft co-founder) Paul Allen.

It successfully completed its [maiden voyage in 2019](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/biggest-airplane-stratolaunch-test-flight>).

"The flight itself was smooth, which is exactly what you want a first flight to be," test pilot Evan Thomas told *The Verge* at the time, adding, "it flew very much like we had simulated and like we predicted."

**More on Stratolaunch:** [*See the World’s Biggest Airplane Nail Its First Test Flight*](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/biggest-airplane-stratolaunch-test-flight>)

## Author
I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/vtanger.bsky.social>)