Air Force X-60A hypersonic rocket readies for design, demonstration, and test phase beyond Mach 5

WRIGHT-PATTERSON AFB, Ohio – The U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory's X-60A hypersonic flight research program is ready to begin its design, demonstration, and test phase after completing its critical design review. Intelligent Aerospace reports. Continue reading original article

The Military & Aerospace Electronics take:

13 March 2019 -- The Air Force Research Lab at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio, is developing the X-60A vehicle in partnership with Generation Orbit Launch Services Inc. in Atlanta. It is an air-dropped liquid rocket specifically designed for hypersonic flight research.

The X-60A propulsion comes from the Hadley liquid rocket engine, which uses liquid oxygen and kerosene propellants. The system is designed to provide affordable and regular access to atmospheric speeds faster than Mach 5 in high-dynamic-pressure flight conditions.

A key part of the X-60A, which the Air Force says will have its initial flight in about a year, centers on the commercially available Cecil Spaceport in Jacksonville, Fla., as opposed to U.S. military flight test ranges. Cecil Spaceport can accommodate hypersonic flight testing.

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John Keller, chief editor
Military & Aerospace Electronics

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