US hypersonic glider flunks first test flight

The unmanned Falcon Hypersonic Technology Vehicle 2 (HTV-2) is designed to fly through the upper reaches of Earth's atmosphere at speeds of up to Mach 20, providing the US military with a possible platform for striking targets anywhere on the planet with conventional weapons.

The HTV-2 was launched last week aboard a Minotaur IV rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, according to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).

The test flight called for a 30-minute mission in which the vehicle would glide at high speed before splashing down in the Pacific Ocean, north of a US military test site at the Kwajalein Atoll.

The glider separated from the booster but soon after the signal vanished, a spokeswoman said.

www.physorg.com...

Turns out the first test flight was not as big as we thought. But things happen like this, they’ll be able to fix the problem in no time.

[edit on 28-4-2010 by Maddogkull]

Cool! I even love the term "glider"... hehe...
It's sad though that every techno-release is praised for the "increment of military capability to strike targets"... Jesus when will people GROW UP...
meh...
S&F.

I doubt the signal is really lost. I don't know if I trust the military enough to tell me that something they spent millions on would just fail after separating from the boosters. The actual vehicle is probably doing what it was suppose to and is being covered up as a failure.