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<ul><li>The <keyword id="4600519" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="worlds-largest-plane">world's largest plane</keyword> and the brainchild of <keyword id="72398" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Paul-Allen">Paul Allen</keyword>, the Stratolaunch, successfully completed its first test flight on Saturday.</li><li>Jean Floyd, the CEO of <keyword id="865865" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Stratolaunch-Systems">Stratolaunch Systems</keyword>, thanked the <keyword id="625986" type="POSITION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Microsoft-co-founder">Microsoft co-founder</keyword> for making this project a reality. </li><li>The Stratolaunch has the potential to greatly reduce the cost of launching satellites into low earth orbit.</li></ul>As the world's largest plane, with a wingspan <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/Inside-the-worlds-largest-plane-which-has-a-wingspan-longer-than-a-football-field-and-will-debut-in-2019/The-Stratolaunchs-first-flight-is-scheduled-for-2019-/slideshow/63102749.cms">longer</a> than a football field, took off for the very first time in <keyword id="617720" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Mojave-Desert">Mojave Desert</keyword>, California — the CEO of Stratolaunch Systems, Jean Floyd, whispered a quite "thank you" to Paul Allen, Microsoft's co-founder who passed away in October last year at the age of 65 years. 
 <div type="ExtQuote" text="I had imagined this moment for years, but I had never imagined it without Paul standing next to me… Even though he wasn't there today, as the plane lifted gracefully from the runway I did whisper a 'thank you' to Paul for allowing me to be a part of this remarkable achievement." auname="Jean Floyd, CEO of Stratolaunch Systems addressing the press after the successful flight test"></div>



 Allen's <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/A-company-owned-by-Microsofts-co-founder-just-unveiled-the-biggest-plane-in-the-world/articleshow/58949344.cms">brain child</a>, the Stratolaunch mega plane, is essentially a jet, carrying a rocket that's carrying a satellite. Once the plane takes off, it launched a rocket once it reaches an altitude of 35,000 feet which, in turn, launches satellite somewhere between 500 km to 2,000 km above the Earth. Allen reportedly sunk over $300 million into the Stratolaunch before it finally rolled out onto the tarmac in February last year after six years of extensive work. The first test flight was actually scheduled for 2015 but got <a href="https://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/03/01/paul_allen_stratolaunch_satellite_launch_plane_test/">delayed</a> when Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, pulled out in 2012 to focus on the Falcon 9 launch system. 
	<div type="twitter" handle="PaulGAllen" handlename="Paul Allen" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/558434025954488320/E4r4Rlc__normal.jpeg" favoritecount="1471" retweetcount="641" status="Captured new video of @Stratolaunch plane as it reached a top taxi speed of 40 knots (46 mph) with all flight surfa… https://t.co/6hECkCluzA" createdat="1519664400000" id="968168785076142080"></div>



 This entire system has the potential to greatly reduce the cost of launching satellites into low earth orbit (LEO) by eliminating the need for launch pads and its supporting infrastructure, saving on fuel costs and being more resilient in the face of bad weather. 
 <div type="ExtQuote" text="We finally did it. It was an emotional moment to watch this bird take flight." auname="Jean Floyd, CEO of Stratolaunch Systems addressing the press after the successful flight test"></div>



 But, the Stratolaunch is already facing stiff <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/paul-allens-rocket-launching-plane-is-the-biggest-in-the-world--here-is-how-it-stacks-up-to-other-great-flying-machines/articleshow/59149353.cms">competition</a> from Richard Branson's company, Virgin Orbit, that's scheduled to test its first flight mid-2019 and there are still plenty of bureaucratic hoops for it to clear before it can officially be in the business of launching satellites. Virgin Orbit's LauncherOne service is using a customised Boeing 747-400 which, unlike the Stratolaunch, is already a proven aircraft. Dan Hart, the CEO of Virgin Orbit stated, "We are well on our way towards providing new launch opportunities for small satellites that have waited too long for their ride to space." See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/finance/inside-the-worlds-largest-plane-which-has-a-wingspan-longer-than-a-football-field-and-will-debut-in-2019/slidelist/63102751.cms">Inside the world's largest plane, which has a wingspan longer than a football field and will debut in 2019</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/Behold-the-largest-plane-in-the-US-Air-Force/articleshow/52238759.cms">Behold, the largest plane in the US Air Force</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/paul-allens-rocket-launching-plane-is-the-biggest-in-the-world--here-is-how-it-stacks-up-to-other-great-flying-machines/articleshow/59149353.cms">Paul Allen's rocket-launching plane is the biggest in the world - here is how it stacks up to other great flying machines</a>

The world's largest plane that finally flew was Microsoft co-founder late Paul Allen's idea

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"></div></div></div>Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo crashed last week during a test flight conducted by the private space company's development partner, Scaled Composites. 
The Virgin Spacecraft broke-up in mid-air after suffering what the company called an "in-flight anomaly."
SpaceShipTwo's pilot - 43-year-old Peter Siebold - was able to use his parachute to escape the craft, but he sustained injuries and was airlifted by helicopter from the California desert to a hospital.
His co-pilot - 39-year-old Michael Alsbury - was killed in the crash.
Both pilots were part of the Scaled Composite test team that was trained to fly SpaceShipTwo.
The company has endured tragedy before. In 2007, a rocket motor exploded during a ground test, killing three employees and injuring another three. 
You may have heard of Virgin Galactic and Virgin Group founder Richard Branson. But Scaled Composites is a more obscure name.
However, without Scaled Composites, there would be no Virgin Galactic as we now know it. 
Here are five things you may not know about the Mojave, Calif.-based company:
1. Scaled Composites was founded in 1982 by pioneering aviation engineer Burt Rutan. 
Rutan served as Scaled's chief technology officer until his retirement in 2011. The company has been a subsidiary of Northrup Grumman since the defence giant purchased the firm in 2007.
2. The company specializes in the design, production, and flight testing of air and spacecraft built from special non-metal composite materials.
3. Scaled - in association with Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen's Mojave Aerospace Ventures, which invested $28 million- designed and built SpaceShipOne in 2003. A year later, SpaceShipOne won the coveted <a href="http://ansari.xprize.org/" target="_blank">Ansari X Prize</a>, worth $10 million in cash, to build a reusable manned spacecraft. SpaceShipOne is now on permanent display at the Smithsonian Air &amp; Space Museum in Washington, D.C.
4. Scaled Composites teamed up with Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic to form The Spaceship Company to design, build, and test future spacecraft. Virgin Galactic acquired Scaled Composites' 30% stake in The Spaceship Company in 2012. Overall, the Virgin Group has invested something on the order of $100 million in the effort to bring short trips to the edge of space within the reach of wealthy tourists.
5. Scaled-founder Rutan has teamed up with Paul Allen once again. This time, the company and its founder will help Allen's <a href="http://www.stratolaunch.com/" target="_blank">Stratolaunch Systems</a> to put cargo into orbit by launching rockets from a large airframe based on the WhiteKnightTwo mothership that Virgin Galactic used to launch SpaceShipTwo. Allen's new investment level hasn't been disclosed.

5 Things You Didn't Know About The Company Testing Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo

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The world's largest plane that finally flew was Microsoft co-founder late Paul Allen's idea

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