Stratolaunch plans a similar service for satellites, particularly the low-Earth orbiting multi-hundred member constellations under development by companies including SpaceX and Google's Terra Bella to provide internet access, Earth imagery and other data. But Stratolaunch will offer quick and precise satellite positioning, a service that will set it apart from competitors.
These satellite networks, based on low-cost spacecraft, are the fastest-growing segment of the global satellite industry which reported more than $208 billion in revenue 2015, according to a Satellite Industry Association report.
Football Field
Walking across the Stratolaunch plane's wings offers perspective on the vehicle's dimensions.
"You could fit a football field up here," said Beames.
Assembly of the plane is 76 percent complete, with the engines, landing gear and one tail section still to be installed. The plane is expected to be finished before the end of the year. Commercial services are expected to begin before 2020.
When the plane was announced in 2011, Musk's Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, was hired to provide a version of its Falcon rocket to catapult medium-class payloads into orbit after they were dropped by the Stratolaunch carrier aircraft.
When that arrangement fell through, Stratolaunch looked to Orbital ATK for a booster rocket but those plans were tabled as well due to technical issues.
Now, the company is mulling multiple partnerships with several rocket companies to provide launch services for small and medium-sized satellites. Human spaceflight for business and research is not in the immediate business plan, Beames said.
The plane is designed to carry a rocket and payload with a combined weight of up to 550,000 pounds (250,000 kg), on par with what a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket can launch from the ground.