C-17 Drops the Final Rocket in Falcon SLV Test Phase

US Air Force, EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE: A government and industry test team broke their own record in late July by releasing a full-scale simulated 72,000-pound rocket from an unmodified C-17A aircraft at the operational launch altitude of 32,000 feet and an air speed of 200 knots. 
 
This feat marked the largest single object to be dropped from that particular type of aircraft since June, when a 65,000-pound simulated rocket was released in a similar test. 
 
The tests were conducted as part of the Falcon Small Launch Vehicle Program. Members of the test team were comprised from the Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center