There are two more models of the breathing plane left
Avi Blizovsky
An investigative committee was established for the crash of the experimental supersonic plane
10/6/2001
The members of the committee have not yet reached conclusions regarding the circumstances of the crash, but the approach is that it was a malfunction in the plane's engine.
A few minutes before the X-43 breathing plane prototype was about to switch to the operation of its own engines, during a test, the control personnel had to destroy it over the Pacific Ocean. This was after the Pegasus rocket that was used as an engine for the plane went out of control.
The unmanned aircraft is equipped with propulsion systems that NASA believes can change flights in the air and in space. The plane contains a "scramjet" engine and was designed to use air instead of rocket fuel which today helps to reach a speed of seven times the speed of sound.
The technology, which is based on a system without moving parts, can reduce the cost of flying into space and the flight time of airplanes inside the Earth.
The committee consisting of representatives of several departments in NASA met on Wednesday, 6/6/01 at NASA's Dryden Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base in California, where the malfunction occurred.
5/7/2001
Edwards Air Force Base, California (Reuters). A prototype of a first-of-its-kind plane that is supposed to bring about a revolution and break speed records, was destroyed during its first test flight on Saturday. This, after an accelerating missile that helped the plane take off, deviated from its course and began to fall.
The American space scientists had to destroy the unmanned prototype of the X-43A plane in the air, just a few minutes before it was supposed to start the sophisticated engine. The plane's engine is designed in such a way that it uses oxygen as fuel. The speed of the plane is supposed to be seven times greater than the speed of sound.
NASA cameras on the two H-18 planes that were following the plane, filmed the Pegasus missile deviating from its course, going out of control and falling - before the flight controllers activated the explosives on it, to destroy it over the Pacific Ocean. The fragments of the booster rocket and the prototype of the X-43A, which is produced as part of NASA's "Hyper-X" program, fell into the sea.
NASA scientists said they would form a team to investigate the malfunction, to determine what went wrong. They also pledged to continue the program, which costs $185 million. "We are disappointed, of course, but we will find out what happened, fix the problem and fly again," said "Hyper-X" program manager Vince Rausch. Rausch added that he cannot speculate how long the investigation of the malfunction will last, or when the next test flight will be conducted. "There's a reason we have three prototype aircraft," NASA spokesman Fred Johnson explained. "This is a test flight. If we knew what the results would be, we wouldn't have had to learn anything."
The X43-A performed the first test flight out of three test flights planned as part of the "Hyper-X" program. According to NASA officials, the program will pave the way for commercial flights from coast to coast in 30 minutes.
The scientists believe that the program is a breakthrough in the field of aviation, on the scale of the Wright brothers' first flight. According to them, they still do not know what caused the malfunction, but they believe that it is probably the accelerator missile, and not the X43-A plane itself or the supersonic engine.
The X43-A and the Pegasus missile were carried to an altitude of 8,000 meters by a B-52 bomber that took off from Edwards Air Force Base in the California desert. While the missile separated from the bomber, it still seemed that the operation would proceed exactly as planned.
The accelerator missile was supposed to accelerate the speed of the X43-A to a speed of Mach seven at an altitude of about 30,880 meters, before the prototype would detach and fly for a few seconds at this speed - thus setting a speed record. But the missile deviated from its course earlier.
According to scientists, the supersonic engine - which was developed for about 40 years - will bring about a revolution in space travel, by turning oxygen into fuel. The engine uses oxygen and hydrogen to power the aircraft. In this way, there will be no need for oxygen supply in the plane, and its lighter weight will allow it to fly longer distances or carry heavier cargo. According to scientists, the aircraft engine will also be used in military applications. It will allow a fighter plane to fly at such a high speed that it cannot be shot down.
Today, the fastest "breathing plane" is the SR-71 Blackbird, flying at a speed of Mach three - three times the speed of sound. The planned plane should eventually reach a speed of Mach ten.
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