Air launch

"airlaunch" redirects here. For the company, see AirLaunch.
A Boeing X-43 being air launched from under the wing of a B-52 Stratofortress.

Air launching is the practice of releasing a rocket, missile, parasite aircraft or other aircraft payload from a mother ship or launch aircraft.[1] The payload craft or missile is often tucked under the wing of the larger mother ship and then "dropped" while in flight.[2] It may also be stored within a bomb bay, beneath the main fuselage or even on the back of the carrier aircraft, as in the case of the D-21 drone.[3] Air launching provides several advantages over ground launching, giving the smaller craft an altitude and range boost, while saving it the weight of the fuel and equipment needed to take off on its own.[4]

  1. ^ Alireza Forouzandeh Tabrizi (May 2015). "Air Launch" (PDF). San Jose State University. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
  2. ^ Rebecca A. Mitchell. "A Conceptual Analysis of Spacecraft Air Launch Methods" (PDF). University of Colorado. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
  3. ^ "Lockheed D-21B Drone | The Museum of Flight". Museum of Flight. Retrieved 2023-04-09.
  4. ^ "Pegasus Rocket". Northrop Grumman. Retrieved 2023-04-09.