Hypersonic Technology Vehicle 2

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An illustration of the DARPA Falcon Hypersonic Technology Vehicle-2 (HTV-2)

HTV-2 ( H ypersonic T echnology V ehicle 2 ) was the prototype of a military maneuverable hypersonic missile , which should travel at twenty times the speed of sound. It was an experimental technology demonstrator of the Falcon project (Force Application and Launch from Continental United States) of the DARPA and USAF . The HTV-2 was built by Lockheed Martin . In 2013 the decision was made to discontinue the project.

technology

The test vehicle HTV-2 did not have its own drive, but was launched with the help of a three-stage Minotaur-4-Lite rocket on a suborbital trajectory that exceeded the atmosphere. After reaching the summit, the HTV-2 separated from the last stage of the launcher and was supposed to  enter the atmosphere at a speed of about Mach 20, where it would transition into a horizontal flight. In this phase, the missile should perform programmed maneuvers, which should be registered by numerous sensors on board and on the ground. At the end of the mission, the HTV-2 missile was supposed to crash into the sea, with no recovery planned. The range of HTV-2 should be 8,000 km

Intended flight profile of the HTV-2 missile

Missions

Launch of HTV-2a on a Minotaur-4-Lite rocket

A first test flight with HTV-2a on April 22, 2010 from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California to Kwajalein Atoll in the Pacific was intended to demonstrate the durability of the thermal insulation and the aerodynamic control options. However, shortly after takeoff, contact with the missile was lost.

The second flight with HTV-2b also took place on August 11, 2011 from Vandenberg Air Force Base and should include a similar flight profile, taking into account the experience of the first flight. This missile also lost radio contact after about 9 minutes of flight and was lost. In April 2012, DARPA published an investigation report and came to the conclusion that the unexpectedly high detachment of the missile's outer hull led to unstable flight behavior and caused the crash.

See also

Web links

Commons : HTV-2  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Falcon HTV-2 ( Memento from September 4, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) darpa.mil, accessed on August 10, 2011
  2. ↑ Darpa Plans Test for Hypersonic Weapon wired.com; DARPA Falcon Project engl. Wikipedia
  3. ↑ HTV-2 Fact sheet  ( page no longer available , search in web archives ). lockheedmartin.com, PDF, accessed August 10, 2011 @1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.lockheedmartin.com
  4. ↑ Darpa refocuses Hyper Sonic Research on Tactical Missions. In: Aviaton Week. July 8, 2013, accessed June 3, 2019 .
  5. ↑ Notification of first flight ( memento from April 26, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
  6. ^ Pentagon's hypersonic flight test cut short by anomaly , Spaceflight Now
  7. ^ Engineering Review Board Concludes Review of HTV-2 Second Test Flight ( memento April 23, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) darpa.mil, accessed April 24, 2012