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from the Los-Angeles-to-Boston-in-less-than-an-hour dept.
In May of 2013, the Air Force successfully tested the X-51 WaveRider — an uncrewed, hypersonic "scramjet" capable of reaching Mach 5.1, or more than five times the speed of sound — by flying it at hypersonic speeds over the Pacific Ocean. Now, the Air Force is looking ahead to its next aircraft.
Air Force Chief Scientist Mica Endsley told Military.com this week that the agency is working on the next generation of its hypersonic vehicle. While the X-51 was a test designed to show that a scramjet craft was feasible, the Air Force now wants a vehicle that can "operate at the kind of temperatures you have when you are going at hypersonic speeds," and plans on building a guidance system that can also work at extreme speeds. The goal is to produce the new craft by 2023.
That is, of course, a long while away, and the US military has had some trouble with hypersonic defense technology. The X-51 was only successful after a string of high-profile failures, and last year, a hypersonic missile being tested by Department of Defense exploded during takeoff.
http://www.theverge.com/2015/6/2/8708255/x-51-waverider-mach-5-2023
Original Submission
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Friday June 05 2015, @05:20PM
Yes, and yep. But - the research was carried at least a step further, according to my memory. At least one craft was flown at hypersonic speeds, and ditched into the ocean. Either that, or I'm just getting fucking senile, and I've superimposed some work of fiction on top of the genuine research. Damned if I can find any mention of that flight though.
(Score: 2) by novak on Friday June 05 2015, @06:55PM
The X43 was, but that's not from the 60s. Other than that... I'm not sure.
novak