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Final X-51A WaveRider hypersonic mission achieves Mach 5.1, record flight length
With the third X-51A WaveRider failing to reach hypersonic speed due to a fin failure last August, it seemed the United States Air Force would possibly forgo the fourth (and final) run. On the morning of May 1st, however, that last X-51A got its chance to soar, successfully reaching Mach 5.1 during a record 370-second flight. According to the Wright Patterson Air Force base, the aircraft's rocket booster helped it hit Mach 4.8 about 26 seconds after being released from a B-2H at 50K feet, at which point its air-fed scramjet brought it to 60,000 feet while achieving hypersonic flight. The USAF notes that "it was the longest of the four X-51A test flights [230 nautical miles] and the longest air-breathing hypersonic flight" -- surely taking some of the sting out of the $300 million program's previous shortcomings. Past flights aimed to hit Mach six, with the first and second tests only sustaining Mach five. The aircraft made destructive splashdown landing into the Pacific as planned, but data from the whole flight was recorded. The USAF isn't planning a follow-up to the X-51A anytime soon, though the program will likely serve as a reference for future designs. You can dig into the official rundown at the link below.
X-51A WaveRider hypersonic mission doomed by bum missile fin
The latest attempt to go past Mach 5 with the X51A has finished badly again, as a broken fin caused the missile to lose control before its air-breathing "scramjet'" motor could even kick in. It happened just after the booster rocket phase, which accelerates the craft to at least Mach 4, a high enough velocity for the hypersonic scramjet to work. The craft ended up in the Pacific shortly afterwards instead, and this latest affair may end up dunking the entire $300 million program. The Air Force initiative is already short on funding, and the previous two tries were equally dismal failures -- meaning a fourth missile, already built, may end up a museum piece.
X-51A WaveRider scramjet hits Mach 5, sets record for longest hypersonic flight
It might be a bit difficult to make out, but what you're looking at above is the X-51A WaveRider scramjet in the process of setting a record for the longest hypersonic flight. That happened around 10 a.m. on May 26th, when the rocket was dropped from the wing of a B-52 bomber at a height of 50,000 feet and proceeded to fly at Mach 5 for more than three-and-a-half minutes, blowing away the previous record of just twelve seconds. If you can believe it, however, the aircraft actually fell somewhat short of its goal -- Boeing and the Air Force were hoping the WaveRider would be able to fly for 300 seconds and hit Mach 6, but something apparently caused it to lose acceleration towards the end. Head on past the break for the video, we assure you it's still pretty impressive.
