US FALCON Hypersonic Aircraft Project faces change

Posted on: May. 31st, 2006 || Source: flightglobal.com | E-mail Article | Print Article

A key US hypersonics programme is undergoing changes even as Congress urges the creation of a joint technology office to co-ordinate fragmented US high-speed research.

The changes affect the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA) Falcon programme to demonstrate technology for responsive spacelift and global strike. With cutbacks in NASA funding, Falcon has taken on a leading role in US hypersonics and could be affected by any Congressional directive to consolidate research.

DARPA and prime contractor Lockheed Martin have decided not to build and fly the first version of the Falcon hypersonic test vehicle (HTV) after encountering difficulties manufacturing the carbon-carbon aeroshell. Instead, they have shifted efforts to a more producible design for the second in a series of test vehicles, HTV-2, says DARPA Falcon programme manager Dr Steven Walker.

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