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Imagine a new breed of aircraft that could travel 3750 mph (at sea level) and make a trip from Los Angeles to New York City in a little more than 45 min. NASA is working to make these aircraft of the future possible through research into the world of hypersonics, or flight at speeds faster than five times the speed of sound.
One of these exciting areas of research is the Pegasus Hypersonic Experiment project, managed by the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, CA.
The experiment consists of a smooth, information-gathering “glove” installed on the first-stage wing of the Pegasus Space Launch Vehicle, which reaches speeds of Mach 8 and altitudes of 200,000 ft. The glove is bonded to the right wing and wraps from the underside of wing, over the leading edge and onto the upper side, although it does not cover the wing completely…Learn more