Posted on 04/27/2010 8:09:28 PM PDT by ErnstStavroBlofeld
“Ludicris Speed!”
Predicted speed is about 16.3 Mach.
What a darn shame. Well, they've still got one flight and they've probably got at least some data from this flight. At least they're flying something and trying to extend the envelope a bit.
The fear of doing flight tests has held back hypersonic flight development for at least two decades. We've managed a few things (X-43, a few tests in Australia, this), but a large part of the reason they're still doing new designs around the old X-24A, X-40, and such is that agencies responsible for aeronautics development (I'm lookin' at that first A in NASA) are too craven to bend metal and fly something any more, unless it's a dead end Larry Lightbulb "green" project that's safe as houses and not gonna scare the horses.
The H-2 is a close relative of the X-24B and HYPER III from the late 60's/early 70's. It's about time some testing was done on these sorts of shapes at high altitude and velocity. We're only 30-some years late. ;)
Glad they built two. That's the way it used to always got done, back when development really got done. One to break and one to fly. Because if you don't break something, you're not really learning anything.
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