The U.S. Air Force is gearing up for the first of four planned test flights of the the X-51 Waverider hypersonic aircraft designed to operate for much longer durations, cover far greater distances than previous platforms of its type and operating at speeds in excess of Mach 6, reports SpaceNews.
The approach on X-51 has been to demonstrate the technologies that could one day enable things like single-stage-to-orbit vehicles. While the technology is not ready to ferry passengers from New York to Los Angeles in under an hour, such a scenario is not all that far-fetched, Joe Vogel, Boeing’s director of hypersonics told SpaceNews.
A number of hypersonic projects have been in development in recent years ranging from the European IXV, the NASA HyBolt at Wallops Island, VA, the USAF/DARPA X37-B, the DARPA Falcon, and commercial proposals by PlanetSpace and commercial studies by FastForward. The investment in hypersonics has been continued but not what many say is needed for the substantial technology breakthrough.
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