DARPA flight test of world’s fastest aircraft fails
August 12, 2011
Falcon Hypersonic Technology Vehicle 2 (credit: DARPA)
In its second flight test, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA) fastest (13,000 mph) aircraft ever built, the Falcon Hypersonic Technology Vehicle 2 (HTV-2), was successfully inserted into the desired trajectory at near-orbital speed, but the flight ended in loss of signal (and control) when the aircraft transitioned to Mach 20 (about 13,000 mph) aerodynamic flight around nine minutes into the flight, DARPA announced Thursday.
Initial indications are that the aircraft impacted the Pacific Ocean along the planned flight path. DARPA is setting up an independent engineering review board to investigate the loss.
The HTV-2 is part of future Conventional Prompt Global Strike programs intended to reach anywhere in the world in less than one hour.
(Credit: DARPA)
Comments (10)
by eldras
Great attempt and enquiry convened.
I’d like to fly one?
by mbreagan@pacbell.net
13K MPH and we’re calling that a failure? Sounds to me like a minor setback. Regarding the war machine, wake up people. It’s the only way we ever learn anything.
by casey
well said. war may not be what we all want, but the need and drive for more advanced technology to gain a total victory in war enables us to gain technologically advance in every other field of technology itself.
by Duastar
Technology is neither good nor bad. Of course the military is interested in such things, but that doesn’t mean that it can only be used for war mongering. “The civilian sector has historically NEVER benefitted or advanced from technologies developed for the war machine.” Ummmm, what about the Internet or nuclear fussion/fission? Yes, both can be used for evil, but they are also integral to our society now.
by Mind.matriX
@Duastar and polylith, I believe your sarcasm radar is broken.
by polylith
Never is rather strong…
Just a few civilian benefits of US military tech:
personal navigation from military GPS; microwave ovens from military radar; 3G cellular communicaitons from military spread spectrum modulation; the list goes on…
by elsnoggler
Yeah, Jaynay. Down with military technology – the civilian sector has historically NEVER benefitted or advanced from technologies developed for the war machine.
by ConQuiX
The fact that society ultimate derives some technological benefits from military activities should never be used as an excuse or justification for war. Perhaps this is obvious, but I felt like it needed to be said. War or violence are nothing but a possible “solutions” to certain problems created and/or resolved by individuals or groups lacking sufficient ability to resolve these issues properly. Real solutions are possible with understanding, intelligence (real intelligence, not the dirty laundry of our neighbors), awareness, compassion, respect etc. Having said all this – it will always be necessary to develop powerful weapons to protect these values – we’ve just had a lot of trouble using our weapons responsibly and transparently thus far – but this was/is mostly how things were before we could access what everyone else sees, thinks and does.
by ConQuiX
… in other news, that aircraft looks a little like my Linux mouse cursor… o_O;(sorry for double post and previous type-o)
by Jaynay.com
War technologies like this make me sick. Hope it continues to fail