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Hypersonic Aircraft Destroyed In-Flight

Monday, April 23, 2012 16:04

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Maverick Pentagon crazytech agency DARPA has awarded itself a firm pat on the back after a detailed examination of its second HTV-2 test flight last year, in which the high-tech Mach 20 glider was destroyed 9 minutes into the trial and crashed into the Pacific.“The greatest achievement from Flight Two was that we successfully incorporated aerodynamic knowledge gained from the first flight into the second flight,” boasted Major Chris Schulz, programme chief for the HTV-2 at DARPA.

Schulz and his fellow aero-boffins are chuffed about the 2011 flight even though the HTV-2 didn’t reach its planned target because it didn’t come to bits as quickly as the first HTV-2 did in 2010. On the programme’s inaugural flight the glider separated from its launch rocket and reentered the atmosphere, but went out of control almost at once.

On the second attempt last year, according to an investigating review board, the modified second hyperglider did much better – managing to achieve controlled hypersonic flight following reentry and pull up phases.

Unfortunately, after a while the terrific heat generated by boring through the upper atmosphere at Mach 20 began to destroy the radical high-tech aeroshell of the HTV-2 and bits began to come off it. The pieces of wreckage created powerful shockwaves as they burned off. The HTV-2′s control system managed to cope with several of these, but finally a particularly large bit broke off the doomed hypercraft and it went out of control. Automatic safety systems – installed to prevent a rogue craft hurtling off randomly and perhaps hitting a ship or inhabited island – then cut in and forced the HTV-2 to crash into the ocean.

“Data collected during the second test flight revealed new knowledge about thermal-protective material properties and uncertainties for Mach 20 flight,” says Major Schulz: presumably in this case the new knowledge is that the crafty carbon-carbon aeroshell tech of the HTV-2 is not – as had been hoped – up to the job. By Lewis Page http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/04/23/darpa_overjoyed_at_htv_2_explosion/

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