Stratolaunch Systems has devised a radically new method of lofting satellites into low Earth orbit (LEO) by launching them mid-air from the largest airplane ever built.

The Seattle-based company now owned by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen has developed the first commercially viable "air launch to orbit system" that might prove a tough competitor for Elon Musk's Space X.

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Stratolaunch Systems only intends to launch satellites from "Stratolauncher," its gigantic carrier airplane with a wingspan of 117 meters (385 feet), which is longer than a football field. This gargantuan plane is also referred to as the "Roc" by the people building it. Roc is the huge and mythical bird of prey from Persian mythology.

This aerial launchpad will be larger than Howard Hughes' 1947 H-4 Hercules (the fabled "Spruce Goose) and the Antonov An-225, a Soviet-era cargo plane that's was history's largest airplane before Stratolauncher.

Stratolauncher will weigh over 540,000 kg (1.2 million lbs.), including the fully fueled launch vehicle. Because of its massive size, the plane will need a runway at least 12,000 feet long.

The carrier plane will be powered by six 205-296 kN thrust-range jet engines. It has a range of 2,200 km when flying an air launch mission.

It's designed to carry a rocket and payload with a combined weight of up to 250,000 kg, on par with the payload of a ground-launched SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. It's not in the business of human spaceflight for business or research, said Chuck Beame, a supervisor at the company.

First flight of the Stratolauncher is scheduled for later this year with commercial launch services beginning in 2020. Assembly of the carrier is 76 percent complete.

"For the next few years, we'll do all of our test flights out of Mojave ... There's already an air corridor that's established by the Air Force for this kind of stuff anyway, and we'll fly out over the Pacific," said Beame.

TagsStratolaunch Systems, Stratolauncher, Satellites