Dryden Home > Collections > Photo Home > X-43A > Photo # EC01-0182-35 |
Ignition of the Pegasus rocket moments after release from the B-52 signaled acceleration of the X-43A/Pegasus combination over the Pacific Ocean. | ||
Photo Number: | EC01-0182-35 | |
Photo Date: | June 2, 2001 | |
Formats: |
524x480 JPEG Image (70 KBytes) 1117x1023 JPEG Image (419 KBytes) 3000x2750 JPEG Image (4,272 KBytes) |
|
Photo Description: |
The first X-43A hypersonic research aircraft and its modified Pegasus booster rocket were carried aloft by NASA's NB-52B carrier aircraft from Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., on June 2, 2001 for the first of three high-speed free flight attempts. About an hour and 15 minutes later the Pegasus booster was released from the B-52 to accelerate the X-43A to its intended speed of Mach 7. Before this could be achieved, the combined Pegasus and X-43A "stack" lost control about eight seconds after ignition of the Pegasus rocket motor. The mission was terminated and explosive charges ensured the Pegasus and X-43A fell into the Pacific Ocean in a cleared Navy range area. A NASA investigation board is being assembled to determine the cause of the incident. Work continues on two other X-43A vehicles, the first of which could fly by late 2001. Central to the X-43A program is its integration of an air-breathing "scramjet" engine that could enable a variety of high-speed aerospace craft, and promote cost-effective access to space. The 12-foot, unpiloted research vehicle was developed and built for NASA by MicroCraft Inc., Tullahoma, Tenn. The booster was built by Orbital Sciences Corp. at Chandler, Ariz. | |
Project Description: |
The X-43A flights are the first actual flight tests of an aircraft powered by a scramjet engine capable of operating at hypersonic speeds (above Mach 5, or five times the speed of sound). Some 90 minutes after takeoff, the Pegasus will launch from a B-52, rocketing the X-43A to Mach 7 at 95,000 feet altitude, or Mach 10 at 105,000 feet altitude. The X-43A will be powered by its revolutionary air-breathing supersonic-combustion ramjet or "scramjet" engine. The X-43A will then fly a pre-programmed trajectory, conducting aerodynamic and propulsion experiments as it descends until it splashes into the Pacific Ocean. | |
NASA Photo by: | Jim Ross | |
Keywords: | X-43; X-43A; Pegasus |
Dryden Home > Collections > Photo Home > X-43A > Photo # EC01-0182-35 |
Business | Education | History | Gallery | News Room | Organizations | Research | Search | Site Index | |
Last Modified: February 6, 2002 |