10-08-2011, 10:35 PM
Experimental Mach-20 aircraft set for launch at Vandenberg AFB
The Falcon Hypersonic Technology Vehicle 2 is part of a program that would deliver a military strike anywhere in the world in less than an hour.
By W.J. Hennigan, Los Angeles Times
August 10, 2011
An experimental, arrowhead-shaped aircraft that could reach blistering speeds of 13,000 mph above the Pacific Ocean is set to blast off on a test flight Wednesday from Vandenberg Air Force Base, northwest of Santa Barbara.
The flight is scheduled to test new technology that would provide the Pentagon with a vehicle capable of delivering a military strike anywhere in the world in less than an hour.
The unmanned aircraft, dubbed Falcon Hypersonic Technology Vehicle 2, is scheduled to be launched at 7 a.m. PDT into the upper reaches of the Earth's atmosphere aboard an eight-story Minotaur IV rocket made by Orbital Sciences Corp.
The aircraft will separate from the booster, dive back toward Earth, level out and glide above the Pacific at 20 times the speed of sound, or Mach 20.
To demonstrate how fast that is: an aircraft at that speed would zip from Los Angeles to New York in less than 12 minutes.
The aircraft is expected to splash down about half an hour later and sink near Kwajalein Atoll, about 4,000 miles from Vandenberg.
The launch Wednesday will be the second flight of the Falcon. The first flight, which took place in April 2010, ended prematurely with only 9 minutes of flight time.
The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, which is funding the program, said the first flight was "used to improve aerodynamic models and to optimize the vehicle design and trajectory for flight 2."
Sustaining hypersonic flight, or speeds beyond Mach 5, has been extremely difficult for aeronautical engineers to perfect over the years.
In June, the U.S. Air Force had to prematurely end a test flight of its experimental X-51 WaveRider plane when a lapse in airflow to the jet engine caused a shutdown.
The second flight of the Falcon Hypersonic Technology Vehicle 2, which is built by Lockheed Martin Corp., is set to be its last unless the government provides more funding. And unlike many rocket launches these days, it is not set to be webcast.
william.hennigan@latimes.com
Copyright © 2011, Los Angeles Times
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-va...2069.story
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Pentagon's Hypersonic Aircraft Test Flight Delayed Due to Bad Weather
Marisa Krystian | Aug 10, 2011 | 1min:08sec
Pentagon's Hypersonic Aircraft Test Flight Delayed Due to Bad Weather. The launch of the experimental hypersonic aircraft, capable of going zero to 13,000 mph, was postponed today due to bad weather at its launch site at Vandenberg Air Force Base, northwest of Santa Barbara, California.
http://tv.ibtimes.com/pentagon-s-hyperso.../1586.html
Video at link: launched rescheduled for tomorrow
****
"... [Re-scheduled] Liftoff is set for sometime between 7 a.m. and 1 p.m. PDT (10 a.m to 4 p.m. EDT).
Mach 20, or 20 times the speed of sound, varies depending on elevation and air temperature, but the Falcon will be traveling in excess of 13,000 mph. At that speed, it could travel from New York to Los Angeles in less than 12 minutes, and friction with the air can heat it up to 3,500 degrees Fahrenheit.....
The HTV-2 is part of a DARPA plan called Prompt Global Strike. If testing is successful, it could be used as an advanced weapons system whose incredible speed makes it capable of knocking out any target in the world within an hour of launch.
The Falcon hypersonic HTV-2 aircraft emerges from its payload fairing before gliding back to Earth.
CREDIT: DARPA
View full size image
DARPA will launch the second flight test of an unmanned hypersonic glider Thursday (Aug. 11) to test technologies needed for a new global strike bomber concept designed to fly 20 times the speed of sound.
The ultra-fast vehicle, called the Falcon Hypersonic Technology Vehicle 2, is slated to launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California atop a Minotaur 4 rocket after a one-day delay due to bad weather. Liftoff is set for sometime between 7 a.m. and 1 p.m. PDT (10 a.m to 4 p.m. EDT).
Mach 20, or 20 times the speed of sound, varies depending on elevation and air temperature, but the Falcon will be traveling in excess of 13,000 mph. At that speed, it could travel from New York to Los Angeles in less than 12 minutes, and friction with the air can heat it up to 3,500 degrees Fahrenheit. [DARPA's Video Plan for Hypersonic Test Flight]
The HTV-2 is part of a DARPA plan called Prompt Global Strike. If testing is successful, it could be used as an advanced weapons system whose incredible speed makes it capable of knocking out any target in the world within an hour of launch.
DARPA's first Falcon test, HTV-1, did not go as planned. Researchers lost contact with the vehicle nine minutes into the first flight test in April 2010, and failsafe programming caused the Falcon HTV-2 to make a controlled dive into the ocean.....
The HTV-2 could replace the current intercontinental ballistic missile systems. There were only two HTV-2 prototypes built and DARPA has no plans to build more, so after the failure of the first test, DARPA has only one more shot at a successful flight or the project will be discontinued."
Image: http://i.space.com/images/i/11460/i02/fa...1312990725
More and a video at the link:
http://www.space.com/12601-darpa-falcon-...htv-2.html
The Falcon Hypersonic Technology Vehicle 2 is part of a program that would deliver a military strike anywhere in the world in less than an hour.
By W.J. Hennigan, Los Angeles Times
August 10, 2011
An experimental, arrowhead-shaped aircraft that could reach blistering speeds of 13,000 mph above the Pacific Ocean is set to blast off on a test flight Wednesday from Vandenberg Air Force Base, northwest of Santa Barbara.
The flight is scheduled to test new technology that would provide the Pentagon with a vehicle capable of delivering a military strike anywhere in the world in less than an hour.
The unmanned aircraft, dubbed Falcon Hypersonic Technology Vehicle 2, is scheduled to be launched at 7 a.m. PDT into the upper reaches of the Earth's atmosphere aboard an eight-story Minotaur IV rocket made by Orbital Sciences Corp.
The aircraft will separate from the booster, dive back toward Earth, level out and glide above the Pacific at 20 times the speed of sound, or Mach 20.
To demonstrate how fast that is: an aircraft at that speed would zip from Los Angeles to New York in less than 12 minutes.
The aircraft is expected to splash down about half an hour later and sink near Kwajalein Atoll, about 4,000 miles from Vandenberg.
The launch Wednesday will be the second flight of the Falcon. The first flight, which took place in April 2010, ended prematurely with only 9 minutes of flight time.
The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, which is funding the program, said the first flight was "used to improve aerodynamic models and to optimize the vehicle design and trajectory for flight 2."
Sustaining hypersonic flight, or speeds beyond Mach 5, has been extremely difficult for aeronautical engineers to perfect over the years.
In June, the U.S. Air Force had to prematurely end a test flight of its experimental X-51 WaveRider plane when a lapse in airflow to the jet engine caused a shutdown.
The second flight of the Falcon Hypersonic Technology Vehicle 2, which is built by Lockheed Martin Corp., is set to be its last unless the government provides more funding. And unlike many rocket launches these days, it is not set to be webcast.
william.hennigan@latimes.com
Copyright © 2011, Los Angeles Times
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-va...2069.story
****
Pentagon's Hypersonic Aircraft Test Flight Delayed Due to Bad Weather
Marisa Krystian | Aug 10, 2011 | 1min:08sec
Pentagon's Hypersonic Aircraft Test Flight Delayed Due to Bad Weather. The launch of the experimental hypersonic aircraft, capable of going zero to 13,000 mph, was postponed today due to bad weather at its launch site at Vandenberg Air Force Base, northwest of Santa Barbara, California.
http://tv.ibtimes.com/pentagon-s-hyperso.../1586.html
Video at link: launched rescheduled for tomorrow
****
"... [Re-scheduled] Liftoff is set for sometime between 7 a.m. and 1 p.m. PDT (10 a.m to 4 p.m. EDT).
Mach 20, or 20 times the speed of sound, varies depending on elevation and air temperature, but the Falcon will be traveling in excess of 13,000 mph. At that speed, it could travel from New York to Los Angeles in less than 12 minutes, and friction with the air can heat it up to 3,500 degrees Fahrenheit.....
The HTV-2 is part of a DARPA plan called Prompt Global Strike. If testing is successful, it could be used as an advanced weapons system whose incredible speed makes it capable of knocking out any target in the world within an hour of launch.
The Falcon hypersonic HTV-2 aircraft emerges from its payload fairing before gliding back to Earth.
CREDIT: DARPA
View full size image
DARPA will launch the second flight test of an unmanned hypersonic glider Thursday (Aug. 11) to test technologies needed for a new global strike bomber concept designed to fly 20 times the speed of sound.
The ultra-fast vehicle, called the Falcon Hypersonic Technology Vehicle 2, is slated to launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California atop a Minotaur 4 rocket after a one-day delay due to bad weather. Liftoff is set for sometime between 7 a.m. and 1 p.m. PDT (10 a.m to 4 p.m. EDT).
Mach 20, or 20 times the speed of sound, varies depending on elevation and air temperature, but the Falcon will be traveling in excess of 13,000 mph. At that speed, it could travel from New York to Los Angeles in less than 12 minutes, and friction with the air can heat it up to 3,500 degrees Fahrenheit. [DARPA's Video Plan for Hypersonic Test Flight]
The HTV-2 is part of a DARPA plan called Prompt Global Strike. If testing is successful, it could be used as an advanced weapons system whose incredible speed makes it capable of knocking out any target in the world within an hour of launch.
DARPA's first Falcon test, HTV-1, did not go as planned. Researchers lost contact with the vehicle nine minutes into the first flight test in April 2010, and failsafe programming caused the Falcon HTV-2 to make a controlled dive into the ocean.....
The HTV-2 could replace the current intercontinental ballistic missile systems. There were only two HTV-2 prototypes built and DARPA has no plans to build more, so after the failure of the first test, DARPA has only one more shot at a successful flight or the project will be discontinued."
Image: http://i.space.com/images/i/11460/i02/fa...1312990725
More and a video at the link:
http://www.space.com/12601-darpa-falcon-...htv-2.html
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