The world's largest airplane just took flight for the first time

Nanontechnology might be the future, but that doesn't mean the adjective "world's biggest" can't still captivate the human imagination. Rocket launch company

Stratolaunch proved that on Saturday when the company-built world's largest plane, which really looks like two jets fused together, took off from the Mojave Air and Space Port in

Mojave, California. The plane, which _The Verge_ reports weighs 500,000 pounds and has a 385-foot wingspan, is designed to fly at an altitude of 35,000 feet from where it can drop rockets

which will then ignite their engines and boost themselves into orbit around the planet. SUBSCRIBE TO THE WEEK Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from

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directly to your inbox. From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox. Saturday's test flight won't

drop any rockets — they need to make sure the plane flies alright first — but Stratolaunch already has one customer signed up for the plane. Northrup Grumman plans to use it to launch its

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