Captive carry Mother ship

atlantis transported boeing 747 shuttle carrier aircraft. experiments on air launching shuttle carried out test frame enterprise, none of space shuttle fleet launched in way once program commenced

in captive carry arrangement payload craft, such rocket, missile, aeroplane or spaceplane, not separate carrier aircraft.

captive carry typically used conduct initial testing on new airframe or system, before ready free flight

captive carry used transport aircraft or spacecraft on ferry flight. notable examples include:

a pair of modified boeing 747s known shuttle carrier aircraft, used nasa transport space shuttle orbiter , launch orbiter flight tests.
the soviet union developed , used antonov an-225 mriya ferry buran spacecraft.




^ lockheed lrasm completes captive carry tests , flightglobal (retrieved 29 sept 2014)
^ munro, krus , llewellyn; captive carry testing means rapid evaluation of handling qualities , icas, 2002
^ x-34 rocket plane takes sky part of safety check , nasa (retrieved 29 sept 2014)
^ nasa armstrong fact sheet: space shuttles – space shuttles , dryden flight research center , nasa (retrieved 29 sept 2014)