Impossible Engineering Explores Stratolaunch Aircraft

Twofour secured first-time access to the Stratolaunch, which is featured in the season five finale of Impossible Engineering.

Stratolaunch is a one-of-a-kind carrier aircraft that is designed to lift rockets, spacecraft and experimental high-speed hypersonic planes into the stratosphere before releasing them for their journeys into space or around the world. At three giraffes tall, the aircraft can carry the weight of the Statue of Liberty and has more thrust than ten fighter jets. It takes the record as the largest ever airplane by wingspan.

Impossible Engineering will give viewers a first-look inside the aircraft hanger, including never-before-seen footage of test flights and interviews with the engineers who built it and the man who was in the cockpit for its high-risk test flight. The episode will air on Wednesday, April 22, at 8 p.m. on UKTV’s Yesterday channel.

Jonney Steven, series producer for Impossible Engineering at Twofour, said: “When we heard that a team of engineers in the remote Californian desert were attempting to build an aircraft bigger than anything that had ever taken to the skies before, we knew it was a perfect fit for Impossible Engineering. We felt that the audacity of trying to get something of this size to fly was the very epitome of the show—defying the status quo and breaking new ground. To be able to make the first documentary about this unprecedented aircraft was an enormous privilege and we think viewers will be blown away by what the team at Stratolaunch have achieved.”

Art Pettigrue, director of communications and marketing at Stratolaunch, said: “Making the impossible possible is what our teams do day in and day out here at Stratolaunch, so when we were approached by Impossible Engineering about opening our doors to their cameras it seemed like a great fit. We’re thrilled with the finished episode and look forward to sharing our remarkable story with the world.”