The world’s largest Unmanned Aircraft System or UAS, has been announced by a private rocket-launch startup whose goal is to carry rockets loaded with satellites into the atmosphere and launch them into low-earth orbit. Ravn X weighing around 28 tons, which has been designed to launch a satellite into space every 180 minutes. Aevum has been awarded $1 billion in governmental contracts to date.
Aevum has completely reevaluated access to space in a whole new light. The CEO of Aevum said the term rocket science does not work for Aevum. Through autonomous technologies, Aevum will shorten the amount of time it would take to launch from years to only months and when their customers will need it.
Even taking small amounts of payloads into the atmosphere for launch requires a very hefty aircraft. Enter Ravn X, which brags a 60-foot (18.3 meters) wingspan, it stands 18 feet (5.5 meters) tall and requires the same amount of fuel as a standard jet. The Ravn X can take off and release the rocket-powered payload once it meets the specific drop zone, land on the runway, and return to the hanger completely automatically.