Now owned by Cerberus, the Stratolaunch completed its first flight in 2019 – a two-and-a-half-hour test flight above the Mojave Desert watched by a cheering crowd – and is edging ever closer to its goal of launching a rocket mid-air.

In December 2023, the Stratolaunch completed its first test flight with a Talon-A hypersonic vehicle as its payload – its 12th flight overall, lasting three hours and 22 minutes. By June 2024, it had completed 20 flights.

Now discover how air travel changed in every decade from the 1920s to today

The incredible stories behind the world’s biggest planes