Posted on 08/11/2011 10:28:53 AM PDT by Red Badger
An unmanned hypersonic glider developed for U.S. defense research into super-fast global strike capability was launched atop a rocket early Thursday but contact was lost after the experimental craft began flying on its own, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency said.
There was no immediate information on how much of the mission's goals were achieved.
It was the second of two planned flights of a Falcon Hypersonic Technology Vehicle-2. Contact was also lost during the first mission.
The small craft is part of a U.S. military initiative to develop technology to respond to threats at 20 times the speed of sound or greater, reaching any part of the globe in an hour.
The HTV-2 is designed to be launched to the edge of space, separate from its booster and maneuver through the atmosphere at 13,000 mph before intentionally crashing into the ocean.
DARPA used Twitter to announce the launch and status of the flight.
The agency said the launch of the Minotaur 4 rocket was successful and separation was confirmed. It next reported that telemetry had been lost.
(Excerpt) Read more at hosted.ap.org ...
GONE!.....................
Coincidentally, there is a new bunker on my golf course...and it’s smoking.
“GONE!...”
Maybe they’ll find it near the blimp.
If its found inside an Egyptian tomb looking like its been there for thousands of years I’m gonna freak.
It ripped through the fabric of time and space will reappear in a few thousand years.
You have a smoking section on your golf course? When’s Obama playing there?
I think it was probably moving a bit faster than the radio transmission....or it made a mistake and flew over Cleveland!!!
LOL!!!!
"Roads? Where we're going, we don't need no roads!!!"
Either in China, or chasing down our credit rating.
If you say so
The aliens saw it and figured we were close to implementing warp speed....
Two words...candian geese.
Super Lawn Dart!!!
The last known transmission from the aircraft was:
“I knew I should have taken a left turn at Albuquerque.”
“Contact was also lost during the first mission.”
I’m pretty sure they were able to tell it to ditch in the ocean on the first mission. You would likely lose contact after it slammed into the water.
Was it programmed to fly over London? Those frickin looters are taking everything!
Hypersonic flight has a lot of problems. The acceleration will break things, and the plasma environment outside the vehicle causes all kinds of problems.
And besides, the Vulcans may be capturing the vehicles for considering first contact.
Was it commanded by an Astronaut named Taylor by any chance?
We used to call these ICBM’s .. but that was back when we could hit a target.
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