STRATOLAUNCH, the largest plane ever built, took its first flight Saturday out of California’s Mojave Air & Space Port, spokesperson Andrea Courtney confirmed in a statement to USA TODAY.

“Achieving a maximum speed of 189 miles [304 kilometers] per hour, the plane flew for 2.5 hours over the Mojave Desert at altitudes up to 17,000 feet [5,182 meters],” the statement read. “As part of the initial flight, the pilots evaluated aircraft performance and handling qualities before landing successfully back at the Mojave Air and Space Port.”

The plane is the largest in the world based on wingspan — measuring 385 feet — which is longer than a standard NFL football field. It also weighs 500,000 pounds (22,680 kilograms) more than the biggest Boeing 747 and boasts six 747 engines.

Stratolaunch Systems, the aeronautics company founded by late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, has been working on the project since 2011 as part of a plan to make travel to low Earth orbit more accessible.

“Opening up access to [low Earth orbit] will deliver many benefits,” Allen wrote on LinkedIn in 2016. “For example, we could deploy more satellites that would enable better understanding of why our weather patterns are changing and help increase agricultural productivity. And, we could study atmospheric chemistry more closely to better study and mitigate climate change.”

Stratolaunch Systems Corp. chief executive Jean Floyd said Saturday the aircraft made a “spectacular” landing that was on the mark.

Stratolaunch is vying to be a contender in the market for air-launching small satellites.

The behemoth, twin-fuselage Stratolaunch jet is designed to carry as many as three satellite-laden rockets at a time under the center of its enormous wing.

At an altitude of 35,000 feet, the rockets would be released, ignite their engines and soar into space.

The advantages of such air-launch systems include being able to use numerous airports and avoid the limitations of fixed launch sites which can be impacted by weather, air traffic and ship traffic on ocean ranges.

The previous wingspan leader was Howard Hughes’ World War II-era eight-engine H-4 Hercules flying boat — nicknamed the Spruce Goose. Surviving in an aviation museum, it has an approximately 320-foot wingspan but is just under 219 feet long.

(SD-Agencies)