History of the DARPA Falcon HTV-2

Dubbed "the world's fastest aircraft", the Falcon HTV-2 ("Hypersonic Technology Vehicle") is a long-term hypersonic test system currently being developed by DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) for the U.S. Air Force, development momentum.

At the time of writing, the program is still in development and testing, with the overall goal of producing an aircraft that can reach anywhere on Earth in 60 minutes (DARPA from New York to Los Angeles in 12 minutes!). This is certainly a very enticing military weapon, as research will yield a vehicle that can throw turrets at will against ground targets, easily evade radar, evade interceptor missiles, and hit targets before the enemy can react.

The Falcon HTV-2 program (called "Global Rapid Strike") was created in 2003 to help the U.S. military develop a delivery vehicle with the simple goal of reaching anywhere in the world in less than an hour. Following the design phase, the HTV-2 was fabricated through computer simulations and wind tunnel testing to evaluate the effectiveness of such a system. Both proved concepts sound, although wind tunnel testing was limited to a Mach 15 environment and for a short period of time. Still, DARPA continued to fund the construction of the original. The HTV-2 will be a missile launch system that is basically unmanned and controlled from the ground in the same way as a modern UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) - without putting the pilot at risk.

HTV-2 is a research vehicle designed to collect flight data for post-mission processing.

The concept of the Falcon HTV-2 is fairly basic, involving the delivery of unmanned aircraft into subterranean orbit. The vehicle is released from its missile "booster" system, achieves "self-control" and orientation, and then continues its dive back to Earth at a speed of 13,000 miles per hour (Mach 20, 20 times the speed of sound). This allows the Falcon's arrow design to literally "cut" into the upper atmosphere at unheard-of speeds, making it essentially a hypersonic glider, albeit at Mach 20. The plane plunged into the sea in a controlled crash after completing its mission.

Because of its suborbital flight, the falcon's body is able to protect itself from extreme heat -- up to 3,500 degrees Fahrenheit -- during high-speed flight at such high altitudes. Furthermore, its aerodynamics have to be very stable and controllable at such speeds for the vehicle to function.

The idea of ??"piggybacking" using the primary "booster" aircraft is not uncommon in USAF lore, as the USAF used this launch method in various experimental systems during the 1950s and 1960s. One of those methods involved a modified Boeing B-29 Superfortress for launching the Bell X-1 rocket plane, which allowed the Americans to break the sound barrier for the first time. Likewise, the North American X-15 rocket plane was launched from under the wings of a Boeing B-52 Stratofortress.

The Falcon HTV-2 was launched into subterranean orbit using a Minotaur IV Lite rocket engine.

To date, the Falcon HTV-2 has been successfully launched twice, although both vehicles have since been lost due to a loss of communication. This caused both systems to plunge into the ocean uncontrolled. The first flight was attempted in April 2010 at speeds between Mach 17 and 22, while the second and last announced flight was from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California on August 10, 2011 of.

The latter flight lasted just nine minutes, although valuable data was reportedly collected from the flight before the untimely crash, including a speed reading of 3.6 miles per second.

Flight Summary

The flight of the Falcon HTV-2 is divided into several main phases. The initial stage is the "launch stage", in which the Minotaur IV Lite launch vehicle is used as a launch vehicle to launch the HTV-2 into "space". The thrust available in the Minotaur IV system allows the Falcon to reach its intended orbital speed and altitude.

After launch and after reaching the desired altitude range, the HTV-2 aircraft separates from the launch vehicle and switches to its Reaction Control System (RCS) for orientation in its near-orbital environment - this is called the "reentry orientation phase". ' - and use thrusters built into the design (like a space shuttle might be oriented outside the atmosphere). After achieving self-control, HTV-2 entered its "re-entry phase" during which it descended back to Earth in a controlled manner.

The HTV-2 then enters a "pull-up" phase, which essentially consists of the HTV-2 adjusting itself to the desired speed. Next comes the "gliding" phase, and that's where the HTV-2 really shines - reaching any point on Earth in an hour or less at breakneck speed. To date, this period has been used to test the effectiveness of interior systems, flight controls, data acquisition, and aerodynamic qualities at extremely high speeds, although there are many military applications.

After the flight, the aircraft enters a "terminal phase," in which the HTV-2 simply flips over and dives into a predetermined area in the ocean, ending its mission as planned. Rescuers then retrieved the plane for reuse.

Minotaur IV Lite Booster Rocket

Minotaur IV Lite is a further development of the Minotaur IV missile family. The Minotaur IV itself was developed from the Peacekeeper family of missiles to meet the US Air Force's requirement for an expendable launch system capable of reaching low-Earth orbit. The "lite" version of the Minotaur IV uses a tertiary solid fuel process with a sub-orbital altitude range. To date, three of the Minotaur IV series have been successfully launched, the first being the HTV-2 system.

Each launch costs the U.S. taxpayer $50 million, resulting in an expensive "dispensable" launch system.

Other

In September 2007, the U.S. Air Force announced the approval of the "Blackswift" project, a fighter-sized hypersonic drone designated the HTV-3X. However, the program was cancelled in October 2008 due to lack of funding.

The original HTV-1 was conceived, but was eventually canceled before the HTV-2 went live.

DARPA Falcon HTV-2 Specification

Basic

Year:
2010
Status:
Active Limited Service
Staff:
0

Production

[2 units] :
DARPA - United States

Roles

- X-Plane / Development

- driverless

Performance

Unknown.

Performance

Maximum Speed:

13,000 mph (20,921 km/h; 11,296 knots)

Armor

No.

Changes

HTV-2 - Base Series Name

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