Darpa: Now We Know Why Our Mach-20 Ship Crashed

[unhappycamper]

Darpa: Now We Know Why Our Mach-20 Ship Crashed
By David Axe
November 16, 2010

It took six months, but the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency finally has a handle on what caused its hypersonic weapon prototype to “terminate” itself over the Pacific Ocean back in April. The findings have paved the way for a fresh round of tests for the Mach-20 flier, potentially leading to a new class of superfast weapons.

The Hypersonic Test Vehicle 2 — a 12-foot, 2,000-pound wedge packing a three-stage Minotaur booster — launched without incident from California on April 22. It climbed to the edge of space for a planned 30-minute, 4,000-mile jaunt toward Kwajalein in the middle of the Pacific.

But nine minutes into the flight, controllers on the ground lost contact with the HTV-2. The culprit, according to Darpa’s Engineering Review Board? “Higher-than-predicted yaw, which coupled into roll, thus exceeding the available control capability at the time of the anomaly.”

~snip~

Time was, Pentagon planners anticipated adapting HTV into a weapon capable of striking any target in the world within minutes of launch from a base in the United States. With that ambition running afoul of (very sensible) diplomatic concerns, planners instead envisioned using hypersonic technology in a new, superfast bomber.

Now it’s clear the Pentagon wants a less-ambitious bomber similar to models already in service. So instead, HTV-2 and its ilk are likely to lead to a new generation of missiles that can be carried by today’s manned planes.

[Sal Minella]

1. How sad that we are evil enough to dream up a weapon such as this

but too stupid to build it so it works.

The "warmaking and dong-waving" aspect of human nature seems to have gotten totally out of control while the rest of us were watching Netflix or Ellen or something.

[KharmaTrain]

2. It Makes A Lot of People Rich...

...and creates lot of jobs as part of the Military/Industrial complex welfare system. Even a failure makes someone money in having to replace parts and waste even more money.

[Sal Minella]

5. True. And what congresscritter wouldn't want a plant in his district

with hundreds of jobs building "test models" forever into the future.

Depressing, is what it is.

[DainBramaged]

7. "warmaking and dong-waving"

You mean they pick up Dong-Ho and wave him around?




:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :patriot:

[flamin lib]

3. And this is going to defeat terrrorism, right? nt

[Sal Minella]

6. Well, sure. You aim one of them thangs at the explosive in

somebody's underpants, and that guy ain't going to blow up nothing.

[truedelphi]

8. heh. heh. n/t

[Billy Burnett]

4. They've been testing HTVs since the 60's.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMyC2urCl_4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5w64fyqmLEU