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calendar   Wednesday - December 16, 2009

Mach 6 flying chisel

X-51a test flight is A-OK



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clicky clicky on the picy



X-51A WaveRider gets first ride aboard B-52

12/11/2009 - WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio—In a flight test reminiscent of the early days of the historic X-15 program 50 years earlier, the X-51A Waverider was carried aloft for the first time over Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., Wednesday, Dec. 9 by an Air Force Flight Test Center B-52H Stratofortress.

The “captive carry” test was a key milestone in preparation for the X-51 to light its supersonic combustion ramjet engine and propel the WaverRider at hypersonic speed for about five minutes, before plunging into the Pacific Ocean. That flight test is currently planned in about two months, said Charlie Brink, X-51A program manager with the Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patt.

“This was a great day for the program,” Brink said. “The early look is we successfully captured all of our test points without any anomalies. I’m really proud of the AFRL, Air Force Flight Test Center, and Boeing/Pratt Whitney Rocketdyne teams’ efforts to move us toward the big event.”

The Dec. 9 captive carry test launched around 3 p.m. Pacific time and was conducted entirely in the airspace over Edwards Air Force Base while various systems and telemetry were checked out. Flight duration was 1.4 hours.

“After takeoff we climbed to 50,000 feet and verified B-52 aircraft performance, handling qualities with the X-51A attached to the B-52, control room displays and software integration with the X-51A,” said Lt. Col. Daniel Millman, B-52 project pilot.  “The B-52 handled great and the flight preceded as planned.”

The next B-52 /X-51 flight test mission is expected in mid-January, and will be a “full dress rehearsal,” for its first hypersonic test flight, now planned for mid-February, Brink said. The dress rehearsal flight will depart Edwards and head out over the Pacific to Point Mugu Naval Air Warfare Center Sea Range. Both airborne and multiple ground test assets will monitor all X-51A systems, but the X-51 will not be released from the B-52 and its engine will not ignite.

Then, in February, the Air Force Flight Test Center’s B-52 will carry the unmanned X-51A to approximately 50,000 feet over the Pacific Ocean then release it. A solid rocket booster from an Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) will then ignite and accelerate the X-51 to about Mach 4.5. Then the booster will be jettisoned and the X-51A’s SJY61 supersonic combustion ramjet propulsion system will ignite and operate for about 300 seconds, propelling the cruiser to more than six times the speed of sound or Mach 6.



Pretty damn cool. Somehow I thought that these guys had the whole ramjet/scramjet thing figured out back in the 60s. Guess I was wrong. Apparently the scramject is a whole different beastie than the ramjet, though they are quite similar. Both have no moving parts, and make lots of thrust on very little fuel, but only work at supersonic velocities. And here I thought that the not-so-secret Aurora stealth spy plane with it’s pulse-contrail engine had this squared away nearly 2 decades ago. Guess I was wrong.

I am not sure what the plan is for a functional scramjet. Will it be a missile? Will it be a NASA launch vehicle? Who can tell. Anyway, I was going to make this big detailed post, but I’ve been at the Tamdhu tonight, so fuck it.

Here’s a bunch of links so you can look stuff up to your hearts content.

http://science.howstuffworks.com/hypersonic-plane.htm

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NASA built this SOB and it flies at Mach 10. Same idea. Makes this test flight look kinda lame, don’t it?

This is the X-51a Waverider. Your government dollars at work, courtesy of Pratt & Whitney. Outstanding!
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http://www.parabolicarc.com/2009/08/10/scramjet-engine-installed-x51a-waverider-vehicle/

The press release. Glad to know it can hang off the wing of a B-52. Big deal. Fire it off already, let’s see it go!
http://www.afmc.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123181749

Wiki stuff
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_X-51

“Beads on a string” contrails - could be from a PDE engine, for all you Aurora conspiracy fans!
http://www.afmc.af.mil/shared/media/photodb/photos/091209-F-6680C-040.jpg

Awesome pic, including painter’s tape. Why the tape? I guess it keeps the air intake closed.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e5/X-51A_Waverider_on_B-52_2009.jpg

NASA explains how jet engines work. With a super Java applet you can screw around with.
http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/airplane/rampart.html

Ramjet vs. Scramjet: shades of difference, minus a couple of parts
http://www.aviation-history.com/engines/ramjet.htm

The BUFF takes off with the X-51a mounted. Damn, that old girl is showing her age. Look at the wrinkles!
http://www.afmc.af.mil/shared/media/photodb/photos/091209-F-6680C-040.jpg

WTF. Here’s some info on Tamdhu. For scotch drinkers who don’t like the overly peaty flavor of Talisker and Oban, it’s a nice experience.
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http://www.whisky-distilleries.info/Tamdhu_EN.shtml

Yes, they put this stuff in Famous Grouse too. Best damn blended scotch ever!


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Posted by Drew458   United States  on 12/16/2009 at 09:39 PM   
Filed Under: • Science-Technology •  
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Oh, and here's some kind of visitor flag counter thingy. Hey, all the cool blogs have one, so I should too. The Visitors Online thingy up at the top doesn't count anything, but it looks neat. It had better, since I paid actual money for it.
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