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Stratolaunch sold to mystery buyer, raising hopes that world’s largest plane will fly again
Stratolaunch Systems Corp. – a space launch venture created by the late Microsoft co-founder billionaire Paul Allen – debuted the world’s largest plane (nicknamed Roc) in April 2019, completing one flawless flight before reports of its indefinite grounding arose.
In June, parent holding company Vulcan Inc. – led by Allen’s sister after his death – planned to cease Stratolaunch’s operations in anticipation of a total liquidation – including the aircraft, intellectual property, and facilities – worth up to $400 million. However, the Roc may live to fly once again after an official October 11th announcement, in which Stratolaunch indicated that the company has “transitioned ownership and is continuing regular operations.”
Prior to the announcement, NASASpaceflight.com photographer Jack Beyer posted photos to twitter appearing to show new activity at Stratolaunch’s Mojave Air and Space Port hangar. The post garnered a response from Nicola Pecile – test pilot with Virgin Galactic – who stated that operations seem likely to resume “in a few weeks” citing that hiring notices were recently sent to members of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots (SETP).
Initially, Allen developed the company to launch air-to-orbit rockets from a carrier aircraft mid-flight. To say that Stratolaunch has experienced turbulence during development may be an understatement. Since its inception, conceptualization redesigns and failed partnerships with various rocket launch vehicle companies have plagued operational efforts.
In 2011 Stratolaunch partnered with Elon Musk’s SpaceX to develop a multi-stage launch vehicle named the Falcon 9 Air that would be dropped from a carrier aircraft. The Falcon 9 Air would have been capable of delivering payloads up to 6,100kg (13, 400lbs) to low Earth orbit (LEO) from flight altitudes of 30,000ft with the assist of 4 Merlin 1D engines – the same engines that now propel SpaceX’s Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy boosters.
In 2012 SpaceX and Stratolaunch amicably parted ways with SpaceX citing design alterations that no longer worked with their envisioned Falcon 9 Air launch vehicle.
Following the dissolution of the partnership with SpaceX, Stratolaunch partnered with Orbital Sciences Corp (Orbital ATK) – now a subsidiary of Northrop Grumman – to develop the Pegasus II which was ultimately shelved to pursue in-house developed launch vehicles. Following the death of Paul Allen in 2018 that plan was also abandoned as Allen’s sister, Jody Allen, set an exit plan for the company in early 2019 according to Reuters.
However, the recent buy out by a mystery purchaser has seemingly breathed new life into Stratolaunch as the Twitter announcement also mentioned that the company will now “bring the carrier aircraft test and operations program fully in-house.” What this means for the future of the Roc and any air-to-orbit launches remains unclear.
The Roc itself is comprised of twin fuselages connected by a reinforced center wing and features an incredible wingspan of 117m (385ft), 28 landing gear wheels, and six Pratt & Whitney PW4056 engines – as well as many other components – salvaged from donor Boeing 747-400s. It is both the largest and heaviest aircraft (excluding payload) to have ever flown.
With a nickname derived from a mythical bird so large it could carry an elephant in flight, it would have been a tragedy if the one-of-a-kind aircraft were to be scrapped, mothballed, or placed in a museum after just a single flight. With Hope Stratolaunch’s October 11th announcement, the future of the massive plane has thankfully stabilized in spite of significant uncertainty, and hope remains that Roc’s new owner(s) will find a way to continue flying the aircraft.
Check out Teslarati’s newsletters for prompt updates, on-the-ground perspectives, and unique glimpses of SpaceX’s rocket launch and recovery processes.
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Armored Tesla Cybertruck “War Machine” debuts at Defense Expo 2025
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Tesla Megapacks chosen for 548 MWh energy storage project in Japan
Tesla plans to supply over 100 Megapack units to support a large stationary storage project in Japan, making it one of the country’s largest energy storage facilities.
Tesla’s Megapack grid-scale batteries have been selected to back an energy storage project in Japan, coming as the latest of the company’s continued deployment of the hardware.
As detailed in a report from Nikkei this week, Tesla plans to supply 142 Megapack units to support a 548 MWh storage project in Japan, set to become one of the country’s largest energy storage facilities. The project is being overseen by financial firm Orix, and it will be located at a facility Maibara in central Japan’s Shiga prefecture, and it aims to come online in early 2027.
The deal is just the latest of several Megapack deployments over the past few years, as the company continues to ramp production of the units. Tesla currently produces the Megapack at a facility in Lathrop, California, though the company also recently completed construction on its second so-called “Megafactory” in Shanghai China and is expected to begin production in the coming weeks.
READ MORE ON TESLA MEGAPACKS: Tesla Megapacks help power battery supplier Panasonic’s Kyoto test site
Tesla’s production of the Megapack has been ramping up at the Lathrop facility since initially opening in 2022, and both this site and the Shanghai Megafactory are aiming to eventually reach a volume production of 10,000 Megapack units per year. The company surpassed its 10,000th Megapack unit produced at Lathrop in November.
During Tesla’s Q4 earnings call last week, CEO Elon Musk also said that the company is looking to construct a third Megafactory, though he did not disclose where.
Last year, Tesla Energy also had record deployments of its Megapack and Powerwall home batteries with a total of 31.4 GWh of energy products deployed for a 114-percent increase from 2023.
Other recently deployed or announced Megapack projects include a massive 600 MW/1,600 MWh facility in Melbourne, a 75 MW/300 MWh energy storage site in Belgium, and a 228 MW/912 MWh storage project in Chile, along with many others still.
What are your thoughts? Let me know at zach@teslarati.com, find me on X at @zacharyvisconti, or send us tips at tips@teslarati.com.
Tesla highlights the Megapack site replacing Hawaii’s last coal plant
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Elon Musk responds to Ontario canceling $100M Starlink deal amid tariff drama
Ontario Premier Doug Ford said, opens new tab on February 3 that he was “ripping up” his province’s CA$100 million agreement with Starlink in response to the U.S. imposing tariffs on Canadian goods.
Elon Musk company SpaceX is set to lose a $100 million deal with the Canadian province of Ontario following a response to the Trump administration’s decision to apply 25 percent tariffs to the country.
Starlink, a satellite-based internet service launched by the Musk entity SpaceX, will lose a $100 million deal it had with Ontario, Premier Doug Ford announced today.
Starting today and until U.S. tariffs are removed, Ontario is banning American companies from provincial contracts.
Every year, the Ontario government and its agencies spend $30 billion on procurement, alongside our $200 billion plan to build Ontario. U.S.-based businesses will…
— Doug Ford (@fordnation) February 3, 2025
Ford said on X today that Ontario is banning American companies from provincial contracts:
“We’ll be ripping up the province’s contract with Starlink. Ontario won’t do business with people hellbent on destroying our economy. Canada didn’t start this fight with the U.S., but you better believe we’re ready to win it.”
It is a blow to the citizens of the province more than anything, as the Starlink internet constellation has provided people in rural areas across the globe stable and reliable access for several years.
Musk responded in simple terms, stating, “Oh well.”
Oh well https://t.co/1jpMu55T6s
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 3, 2025
It seems Musk is less than enthused about the fact that Starlink is being eliminated from the province, but it does not seem like all that big of a blow either.
As previously mentioned, this impacts citizens more than Starlink itself, which has established itself as a main player in reliable internet access. Starlink has signed several contracts with various airlines and maritime companies.
It is also expanding to new territories across the globe on an almost daily basis.
With Mexico already working to avoid the tariff situation with the United States, it will be interesting to see if Canada does the same.
The two have shared a pleasant relationship, but President Trump is putting his foot down in terms of what comes across the border, which could impact Americans in the short term.
Armored Tesla Cybertruck “War Machine” debuts at Defense Expo 2025
Tesla Megapacks chosen for 548 MWh energy storage project in Japan
