EC01-0023-2
The second of three X-43A hypersonic research aircraft, shown here in its protective shipping jig, arrived at NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, CA, on January 31, 2001. The arrival of the second X-43A from its manufacturer, MicroCraft, Inc., of Tullahoma, TN, followed by only a few days the mating of the first X-43A and its specially-designed adapter to the first stage of a modified Pegasus booster rocket. The booster, built by Orbital Sciences Corp., Dulles, VA, accelerated the 12-foot-long, unpiloted research aircraft to a predetermined altitude and speed after the X-43A/booster “stack” was air-launched from NASA’s NB-52 mothership. The X-43A then separated from the rocket and flew a pre-programmed trajectory, conducting aerodynamic and propulsion experiments until it impacted into the Pacific Ocean. Three research flights were planned, two at Mach 7 and one at Mach 10 (seven and 10 times the speed of sound respectively) with the first tentatively scheduled for early summer, 2001. The X-43A was powered by a revolutionary supersonic-combustion ramjet (“scramjet”) engine, and used the underbody of the aircraft to form critical elements of the engine. The forebody shape helped compress the intake airflow, while the aft section acted as a nozzle to direct thrust. The X-43A flights were the first actual flight tests of an aircraft powered by an air-breathing scramjet engine.January 31, 2001NASA Photo / Tony Landis› X-43A Project Description