Talon-A
A Versatile Hypersonic Testbed
Meet the Talon-A, a Mach 6-class vehicle designed to make hypersonic testing more routine.
A Fully Reusable Hypersonic Vehicle.
The Stratolaunch Talon-A is a flexible, high-speed testbed built for hypersonic research, experiments, and enabling operational missions.
01 — Analytics
Data Services
The Talon-A vehicle provides routine access to high-Mach number, hypersonic flight where data may be collected in the true flight environment. The vehicle is highly instrumented to obtain fundamental aerothermal and performance data, which may provide unique data sets for comparison and calibration of numerical prediction tools. The Talon-A provides here-to-fore unobtainable measurement access to the hypersonic flight environment on a recurring basis.
02 — Flexible
Instrumentation and Experiments Flight Opportunity
The Talon-A is highly instrumented to collect vehicle and payload experiment data during flight. Data is collected and recorded on board the vehicle and may be telemetered to ground stations. Both proprietary and classified payloads may be flown with secure data collection and telemetry. Since the Talon-A is a reusable vehicle, the experiments, payloads, and instrumentation are recovered for inspection and re-use.
03 — Reusable
Multi-Flight Operations
The large payload capability of the Stratolaunch carrier aircraft enables the captive-carry and air-launch of multiple Talon-A vehicles in a single flight. Up to three Talon-A vehicles may be carried underneath the carrier aircraft center wing with the current pylon design. This unique capability enables multiple hypersonic flight opportunities on a single day or the near-simultaneous launch of three Talon vehicles, which may support specific operational scenarios.
Autonomous Hypersonic Testing.
Our innovative Mach 6-class vehicle offers a reliable testing environment, enabling the development of hypersonic systems.
Built for Speed
Reliable by Design
- Recover Valuable Payloads and Experiments
- Rapid Mission Turnaround for Fast Multi-Flight Opportunity
- Cost-Effective Access to the Hypersonic Flight Environment
Flexibility Inside and Out
The Talon-A has the ability to customize instrument locations throughout the vehicle:
- Customizable payload volumes
- Internal and external experiments
- Sensors, optical windows, instrumentation, materials, hypersonic data
Our hypersonic testbeds will serve as a catalyst in sparking a renaissance in hypersonic technologies for our government, the commercial sector, and academia.
Dr. Zachary Krevor
President
Air-launched Hypersonic Testing.
Our Carrier Aircraft can launch up to three Talon-A testbeds in a single mission, making high-speed testing more reliable and routine.
About the Carrier Aircraft
Our Stratolaunch plane is the largest in the world. But it takes off and lands from a runway just like any other aircraft. Once it reaches a cruising altitude of 35,000 ft (10,668 m), one or more launch vehicles are released, allowing for rapid constellation deployment to different inclinations. As the launch vehicles complete their assignments, the Stratolaunch plane heads back to the runway to reload for its next mission.