FLIGHT TEST DELAYED WEEKS ON UNMANNED HYPERSONIC X-43A BOOSTER ROCKET, SOFTWARE WORK CITED IN POSTPONEMENT.Byline: Jim Skeen Staff Writer EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE Edwards Air Force Base, U.S. military installation, 301,000 acres (121,805 hectares), S Calif., NE of Lancaster; est. 1933. It is one of the largest air force bases in the United States and has the world's longest runway. - The flight test of the unmanned hypersonic hy·per·son·ic adj. Of, relating to, or capable of speed equal to or exceeding five times the speed of sound. hy X-43A is being delayed a few weeks to repair damage to its booster rocket and to improve its piloting software. Originally looking to conduct the test this month, the X-43A team said the test will occur no earlier than late March or early April to allow time for autopilot improvements and to replace a damaged rudder actuator on the booster rocket that will carry the experimental aircraft. ``The flight of NASA's X-43A has been delayed approximately one month due to autopilot software changes,'' said Joel Sitz, X-43A project manager at the NASA NASA: see National Aeronautics and Space Administration. NASA in full National Aeronautics and Space Administration Independent U.S. Dryden Flight Research Center The Dryden Flight Research Center (DFRC), located inside Edwards Air Force Base, is an aeronautical research center operated by NASA. On March 26, 1976 it was named in honor of the late Hugh L. . ``During recent hardware testing required to confirm the final autopilot modifications, a flight actuator was inadvertently damaged and will be replaced. A spare flight actuator is being prepared for integration into the booster.'' The actuator was damaged during hardware testing last Wednesday at Orbital Science Corp.'s Chandler, Ariz. plant. Orbital is modifying one of its Pegasus space boosters to carry the X-43A to its test speed of approximately 4,900 mph and its test altitude of 95,000 feet. Although the actuator may still function normally, it will have to be replaced, officials of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), civilian agency of the U.S. federal government with the mission of conducting research and developing operational programs in the areas of space exploration, artificial satellites (see satellite, artificial), said. A joint government/contractor incident investigation is under way to determine the cause and corrective actions, a NASA statement said. The program is testing the ultra-high-speed, ultra-high-altitude scramjet scramjet: see jet propulsion. engine, which could be used in future space launch vehicles This is a list of space launch vehicles sorted by country/operator in alphabetical order, commercial vehicles are listed under their corresponding country.
Brazil
Scramjets pull oxygen for combustion from the atmosphere rather than carry the extra weight of its own oxygen as a rocket does. By not having to carry oxygen, a spacecraft can save fuel weight and carry more equipment. During its test flight, the Pegasus booster/X-43A stack will be released over the Pacific Ocean by a modified B-52 bomber. After a brief free fall, the Pegasus booster engine A booster engine for steam locomotives is a small two-cylinder steam engine back-gear-connected to the trailing truck axle on the locomotive or, if none, the lead truck on the tender. A rocking idler gear permits it to be put into operation by the engineer. will ignite and push the X-43A to its test speed and altitude. As the booster engine burns out, the X-43A will separate and fire its scramjet engine for about 10 seconds. The engine will then shut down and the craft will perform a set of preprogrammed maneuvers before crashing into the ocean. The X-43A will not be recovered. Jim Skeen, (661) 267-5743 james.skeen(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): photo Photo: (color in AV edition only) The X-43A, an unmanned hypersonic aircraft, is shown at right at Edwards Air Force Base in this 2001 file photo. Jeff Goldwater/Staff Photographer |
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