Contact lost with hypersonic glider after launch
Baku, August 15 (AZERTAC). An unmanned hypersonic glider developed for U.S. defense research into super-fast global strike capability was launched atop a rocket early Thursday but contact was lost after the experimental craft began flying on its own, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency said.
The problem occurred during the critical point of transition to aerodynamic flight, DARPA said in a statement that described the mission as an attempt to fly the fastest aircraft ever built.
The 7:45 a.m. launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base, 130 miles northwest of Los Angeles, was the second of two planned flights of a Falcon Hypersonic Technology Vehicle-2. Contact was also lost during the first mission.
Shaped like the tip of a spear, the small craft is part of a U.S. military initiative to develop technology to respond to threats at 20 times the speed of sound or greater, reaching any part of the globe in an hour.
The HTV-2 is designed to be launched to the edge of space, separate from its booster and maneuver through the atmosphere at 13,000 mph before intentionally crashing into the ocean.
Defense analyst John Pike of Globalsecurity.org wasn`t surprised with the latest failure because the hypersonic test flight program is still in its infancy.
The agency said the launch of the Minotaur 4 rocket was successful and separation was confirmed via a camera. Communication was then lost.
DARPA`s statement quoted Air Force Maj. Chris Schulz, the HTV-2 program manager, on the challenge of flight in "virtually uncharted territory."
The military and NASA have also been working on powered aircraft capable of flying at speeds greater than five times the speed of sound, or Mach 5.
The HTV-2 was launched atop a Minotaur 4 rocket built by Orbital Sciences Corp. from decommissioned Peacekeeper intercontinental ballistic missiles. The Minotaur 4 made its debut last year carrying the first HTV-2.
Minotaur 4 is part of the Minotaur rocket family. There have been 22 Minotaur launches since 2000 -- a 100 percent success rate. The price of a single flight ranges from $15 million to $30 million depending on the rocket style, according to the company.
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