Model 318 White Knight

E90342

Model 318 White Knight is a twin-turbojet high-altitude carrier aircraft developed by Scaled Composites to air-launch experimental spacecraft such as SpaceShipOne.

Aliases (1)

Statements (47)
Predicate Object
instanceOf carrier aircraft
experimental aircraft
aircraftCategory research aircraft
special mission aircraft
aircraftConfiguration high-wing
twin-fuselage
aircraftRole launch platform
mothership
airframeMaterial composite materials
basedAt Mojave Air and Space Port
countryOfOrigin United States
crewArrangement one pilot in each fuselage
crewCapacity 2
designedFor SpaceShipOne
designer Burt Rutan
engineModel General Electric J85
engineType twin turbojet
firstFlightDate 2002-08-01
fuselageCount 2
introducedForProgram Tier One program
launchAltitude approximately 45,000 ft
launchMethod air launch
launchPayload SpaceShipOne
experimental payloads
manufacturer Scaled Composites
maxTakeoffWeight approximately 17,000 kg
modelNumber Model 318
nameOrigin named White Knight as counterpart to SpaceShipOne
notableAchievement served as carrier aircraft for the first privately funded human spaceflight program
numberOfEngines 2
operator Mojave Aerospace Ventures
Scaled Composites NERFINISHED
primaryFunction air-launch of experimental spacecraft
program Tier One
programPartner Scaled Composites Tier One team NERFINISHED
propulsionType jet
registration N318SL
registrationCountry United States NERFINISHED
serviceCeiling approximately 50,000 ft
status retired from SpaceShipOne operations
successor WhiteKnightTwo
tailConfiguration twin tail
usedFor SpaceShipOne drop tests
SpaceShipOne powered flights
high-altitude research
usedIn Ansari X Prize flights support
wingType straight wing

Referenced by (2)
Subject (surface form when different) Predicate
Scaled Composites
Scaled Composites ("Model 348 WhiteKnightTwo")
notableWork

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