Mach 20 Test Goes Awry, Military Craft Lost -- CBS News
(Space.com)
(Update: 1:06 p.m. EDT)The U.S. military lost contact with an unmanned hypersonic glider shortly after it launched on a test flight today (Aug. 12) as part of a global strike weapons program to develop vehicles capable of flying at Mach 20 and reach any target in the world in an hour.
The DARPA glider, called the Falcon Hypersonic Test Vehicle 2 (HTV-2), blasted off from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California atop a Minotaur 4 rocket at 7:45 a.m. PDT.
According to DARPA updates, the test flight appeared to go well until the glide phase, when monitoring stations lost contact with the HTV-2 vehicle.
Read more ....
After launching on a rocket, DARPA's Falcon Hypersonic Technology Vehicle prototype reaches suborbital space and then re-enters Earth's atmosphere at speeds of about Mach 20 (DARPA)More News On The Military's Lost Of The Falcon HTV-2
Falcon HTV-2 is lost during bid to become fastest ever plane -- The Guardian
U.S. loses contact with hypersonic experimental plane -- National Post
Sinking Feeling: Pentagon’s Mach 20 Craft Drops Out of Sight -- Wall Street Journal
Contact lost: 'Hypersonic glider' capable of 13,000 mph speeds -- USA Today
The Military Just Lost ANOTHER Hypersonic Jet Over The Pacific -- Business Insider
Test of hypersonic aircraft fails over Pacific Ocean -- L.A. Times
US military loses contact with hypersonic aircraft -- AFP
Hypersonic Plane: Experimental HTV-2 Launches, Loses Contact -- ABC News
My Comment: This failure will probably kill the program.