Pentagon confirms X-51A test flight was a failure

Get short URL

Published time: August 15, 2012 17:33
Edited time: August 15, 2012 23:34

Graphic shows the X-51A Waverider as it is set to demonstrate hypersonic flight (AFP Photo / US Air Force)

Tags

Accident, Air Force, Arms, Military, SciTech, USA

The US Air Force confirmed on Wednesday that the test mission one day earlier of an unmanned hypersonic plane hoped to travel at six times the speed of sound was a failure.

The Pentagon revealed on Wednesday that Tuesday’s test run of the X-51A WaveRider aircraft was unsuccessful.

"It is unfortunate that a problem with this subsystem caused a termination before we could light the scramjet engine," Charlie Brink of the Air Force Research Laboratory at the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio, says in a statement.

The WaveRider was only scheduled to soar for around five minutes, and the military did not release any official comment on the status of the exercise until a full day later, only then finally acknowledging the failure.

Earlier in the day, Wired’s Danger Room reported that the WaveRider “failed its flight test” and suggested that “a fin problem caused a loss of control [before] the engine could kick in,” but did not cite where that information came from. According to a report also filed on Wednesday by AviationWeek.com, sources speaking with that outlet suggested that the test mission “was not a success.”

Screenshot from twitter.com/dangerroom

AviationWeek reports that they believe that a malfunction with the craft’s Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne SJX61 dual-mode ramjet/scramjet engine was not to blame. After being brought to an altitude of 50,000 feet with the assistance of a B-52 bomber, the scramjet engine is the fundamental component involved in boosting the craft to a speed that could coast it over the Atlantic Ocean in under an hour.

The Pentagon had hoped that the X-51A would be able to sustain around five minutes in the sky at a speed of Mach 6, or roughly 4,300 miles per hour. No craft of its type has come close to achieving that goal in the past, though. A WaveRider tested in June 2011 was only able to sustain a speed of Mach 5, and for only half of the time.

Once the WaveRider or a similar hypersonic craft has successfully completed testing, it could be used by the Air Force to send servicemen, supplies or even missiles to any part of the planet within moments.

Comments (53)

Easy Money For Uncle Sam From Stupid Chinese President (unregistered) 23.08.2012 05:19

Yeah, Mr Hu, Mr Noda, and Mr Cameron and other world leaders have yet to give a satisfactory explanation why they need to buy U.S. Treasury Bills, especially that stupid Mr Hu.

He is accountable to 1.4 billion Chinese for the 1.7 trillion investment in U.S. bills which is used to fund projects intended to kill hundreds of millions of Chinese. That's how dumb and stupid this spineless Chairman is. And he is still keeping quiet like a dumb mute to this day, the only world leader who can't speak and respond to concerns uppermost in the minds of Chinese citizens, save for some unacceptable statement by its Forex Admin official-mouthpiece that they have to do so without any explanation. Mr Hu should be fired from his job. China is not obligated to finance an "enemy" intending to destroy and pacify China. God, is there any leader stupider than this Mr Hu under these circumstances?

When is Mr Hu going to step up to the plate and anwer the question - Why is he continuing to finance the Americans to build machines to kill its declared 'enemies" - the Chinese? When the heck, Sir, are you going to become accountable in this matter? It is not a small matter.

Unless Russia also is prepared to finance the U.S. in this manner as well, then perhaps, I will not demand any more accountability from you as it means you - Russia and China - have sold out the people's interest in agreeing to a condition on joining the WTO - an Anglo-American System - that allows the U.S. to demand its members to finance a bankrupt U.S. nation to build arms to kill their Russian and Chinese enemies. Then I will say this - stupid IS stupid. But then again, knowing Mr Putin, he is unlikely to be abused around or be conned around like that dumb and clueless Mr Hu.

Sorry , Mr Hu, but these are questions and matters relevant to your responsibility of Office in the chair of the "Chairman" or "President" of China. When are you going to face the Chinese people and give an explantion for this - what is evidently, a stupid suicidal act of yours for the Chinese nation? Is the earning of interests so important? Is it so important you permit potential long term danger to China and assume risk to China losing the money to an adversary who is totally against your existence?

Mr Obama, Sir, if your Pentagon needs more money to R & D war machines to kill Chinese and Russians and all your "enemies" please do not hesitate to ask Mr Hu for more. I am sure Mr Hu the only leader in the world with little accountability to his people, will give you even more of our hard earned money to develop more weapons of mass destruction; Not just conventional killing machines.

Free-Chinese-Citize n

Undo

spacebox (unregistered) 17.08.2012 09:46

http://en.rian.ru/ml itary_news/20120627/ 174271289.html
ht tp://en.rian.ru/worl d/20120511/173391392 .html
http://en .rian.ru/video/20100 617/159463214.html
http://en.rian.r u/mlitary_news/20120 628/174284411.html http://en.rian.ru/ml itary_news/20120420/ 172931396.html
http://en.rian.ru/ru ssia/20050927/415209 51.html

Undo

mx (unregistered) 16.08.2012 19:53

spacebox (unregistered) wrote in #8

He re is the quote from the link if you didnt read carefully. "Prior to flight test it, Americans were forced to buy our results: an experiment with GLL "Cold" in 1998 was conducted under contract with NASA." Say thanks that we sold you some of the information about hypersonic tech. Without it you wouldnt even have this broken dummy.

Undo

View all comments (53)