[3][4] The company and development project were announced in December 2011 by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen and Scaled Composites founder Burt Rutan, who had previously collaborated on SpaceShipOne.

[5] After ten years, the company was acquired in 2019 by Cerberus Capital Management and has continued privately funded, operating as a non-traditional defense contractor.

The carrier aircraft first flew in April 2019, at the Mojave Air and Space Port, reaching 15,000 ft (4,600 m) and 190 mph (305 km/h) during a 2 hour 29 minute flight.

[8][9] Stratolaunch underwent a change of ownership and direction when Jean Floyd took over as CEO in 2019, reacquiring staff and growing to 87 employees by the beginning of 2020.

Dynetics was cited as "responsible for the total systems engineering, integration and testing, which includes aerodynamics, loads, and interfaces".

In a 2015 interview, former president Chuck Beames (2014–2016) explained, "SpaceX was a partner, and like a lot of partnerships, it was just determined that it was best we went our separate ways – different ambitions.

In February 2013, the company completed construction of its 92,640 sq ft (8,607 m2) carrier assembly hangar and operations facilities at the Mojave Air and Space Port.

This followed the death of Stratolaunch founder Paul Allen in October 2018, who had been the source of funds for the capital intensive development program since its founding in 2011.

In the event, the company remained in operation and posted job openings, including listings for test pilots, in September 2019.

Although the design and integration planning spanned months, the physical installation of the pylon onto the carrier aircraft lasted 4 hours.

As of June 12, 2024, the Stratolaunch carrier has flown a total of 20 times and prepares for continued flights carrying Talon hypersonic aircraft.

[26] Stratolaunch is pleased to announce it has successfully completed a series of envelope expansion flights for Roc, the world’s largest flying aircraft and the company’s primary air-launch platform.

All envelope expansion test objectives were completed to optimize future Talon-A mission operations in pursuit of sustained hypersonic flight.

In May 2023, Stratolaunch announced the approval to acquire Virgin Orbit's modified Boeing 747 and its related parts and equipment, marking an expansion of the company’s air-launch fleet.

After the Virgin Orbit parent company declared bankruptcy in April 2023, this 747 was purchased on May 25, 2023 by Stratolaunch where the aircraft is undergoing modifications for its new mission.

[citation needed] TA-0 completed separation testing in 2023, demonstrating safe release and controlled flight before its glided descent into the Pacific Ocean.

[28] Future iterations of Talon-A will be testbeds carrying customizable payloads at speeds above Mach 5 with the capability for runway landings.