The world's largest airplane just took flight for the first time
Nanontechnology might be the future, but that doesn't mean the adjective "world's biggest" can't still captivate the human imagination.
Rocket launch company Stratolaunch proved that on Saturday when the company-built world's largest plane, which really looks like two jets fused together, took off from the Mojave Air and Space Port in Mojave, California.
The plane, which The Verge reports weighs 500,000 pounds and has a 385-foot wingspan, is designed to fly at an altitude of 35,000 feet from where it can drop rockets which will then ignite their engines and boost themselves into orbit around the planet.
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Saturday's test flight won't drop any rockets — they need to make sure the plane flies alright first — but Stratolaunch already has one customer signed up for the plane. Northrup Grumman plans to use it to launch its Pegasus XL rocket into space.
