USAF hypersonic flight research vehicle dubbed X-60A
NewsOctober 04, 2018
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio. U.S. Air Force (USAF) officials designated the GOLauncher1 hypersonic flight research vehicle as X-60A. Generation Orbit Launch Services, Inc. is developing the vehicle under an Air Force Research Laboratory, Aerospace Systems Directorate, High Speed Systems Division contract.
The X-60A is an air-dropped liquid rocket, specifically designed for hypersonic flight research to mature technologies including scramjet propulsion, high temperature materials, and autonomous control.
“The X-60A is like a flying wind tunnel to capture data that complements our current ground test capability,” says Col. Colin Tucker, Military Deputy, office of the deputy assistant secretary of the Air Force for science, technology, and engineering. “We’ve long needed this type of test vehicle to better understand how materials and other technologies behave while flying at more than five times the speed of sound. It enables faster development of both our current hypersonic weapon rapid prototypes and evolving future systems.”
AFRL’s motivation for the X-60A program is to increase the frequency of flight testing while lowering the cost of maturing hypersonic technologies in relevant flight conditions. While hypersonic ground test facilities are vital in technology development, those technologies must also be tested with actual hypersonic flight conditions.
Utilizing new space commercial development, licensing, and operations practices, the X-60A program aims to provide the Air Force, other U.S. Government agencies, and industry with a platform to more rapidly mature technologies.
The X-60A rocket vehicle propulsion system is the Hadley liquid rocket engine, which utilizes liquid oxygen and kerosene propellants. The system is designed to provide affordable and regular access to high dynamic pressure flight conditions between Mach 5 and Mach 8.
This is the first Air Force Small Business Innovative Research program to receive an experimental “X” designation, Air Force officials say.
