Mojave Air and Space Port is a former World War II airfield that evolved into a major center for civilian aerospace research and development. The innovative aviation company Scaled Composites has been based here for decades, developing aircraft that eventually led to SpaceShipOne, which flew from here into sub-orbital space in 2003, making Mojave Airport the first commercial spaceport in the USA. Scaled Composites recently built the Stratolaunch aircraft, housed in a massive hangar at the airport, which serves as an airborne platform to launch smaller crafts held under its wing, between its twin fuselages, into space. Scaled Composites has also worked on stealth programs and drones, and was bought by Northrop Grumman in 2007. Other civilian airspace projects at Mojave Airport over the years include the Rotary Rocket program, XCOR Aerospace, Vector Launch, and Virgin Galactic. Other tenants at the airport include BAE Systems, which turns fighter jets into target drones, and a large surplus commercial airliner storage yard and scrap yard.