California-based Stratolaunch, which is testing the largest aircraft ever built, has established a permanent D.C.-area office.
It’s in National Landing, the Crystal City area of Arlington County, Virginia.
Stratolaunch was founded in 2011 by the late Paul Allen, co-founder of Microsoft. Allen died in 2018, and the company was acquired by private investor Cerberus Capital Management a year later. Its Roc carrier aircraft is being tested as a midair launch aircraft for hypersonic vehicles, which is of particular interest to defense contractors, including those in the D.C. region.
“The office location positions our company at the epicenter of where many defense decisions are being made relative to the nation’s hypersonic development path,” said Zachary Trevor, president and COO of Stratolaunch. “We’re here because we can contribute solutions and meet the needs of our country’s national security strategy.”
Last month, Stratolaunch successfully completed the fourth test flight of Roc at the Mojave Air and Space Port in California.
Roc has a wingspan of 385 feet, longer than a football field including the end zones, and six Boeing 747 jet engines. It is designed to take off and land from a runway like other planes, and after reaching cruising altitude, release one or more hypersonic speed vehicles. Its payload capacity is over 500,000 pounds.
Allen’s original vision for the flight technology was for a less expensive way to launch satellites into space, as an alternative to more expensive rocket launches.
The company also is developing its own hypersonic vehicles. The Talon-A is a 28-foot long reusable rocket capable of traveling at Mach-6.
Stratolaunch’s National Landing office is at 251 18th St., a JBG Smith building atop the Crystal City Metro. Its official headquarters is at the Mojave Air and Space Port, with corporate offices in Seattle.
