Rocket Report: A new Delta 2, Blue Origin inks with NASA, a fiery Falcon Heavy

Enlarge / The Rocket Report is published weekly. (credit: Arianespace)

Welcome to Edition 1.45 of the Rocket Report! This week, half of our stories concern the biggest rockets on the planet, from Blue Origin engine tests at Marshall Space Flight Center to NASA's efforts to accelerate development of the Space Launch System.

As always, we welcome reader submissions, and if you don't want to miss an issue, please subscribe using the box below (the form will not appear on AMP-enabled versions of the site). Each report will include information on small-, medium-, and heavy-lift rockets as well as a quick look ahead at the next three launches on the calendar.

Stratolaunch flies for the first time. The world's largest airplane, nicknamed Roc, took to the skies for the first time on Saturday, April 13. The flight lasted 150 minutes, during which time the aircraft reached a maximum altitude of 15,000 feet and a top speed of 189mph, Parabolic Arc reports. Backed by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen and built by Burt Rutan's Scaled Composites, the aircraft is designed to air-launch satellites using boosters carried on the wing between its two fuselages.

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