DARPA Set To Blast Falcon Mach 20 Test Flight

Posted by CmdrTaco on Tuesday August 9, 2011 @04:41AM from the are-we-there-yet dept.

coondoggie writes "The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is taking to the sky again, this time to run what it says will be the second and final test of its hypersonic Falcon aircraft, which is capable of hitting speeds up to Mach 20, or about 13,000MPH. The Falcon Hypersonic Technology Vehicle 2 is scheduled to launch Wednesday between 7:00am — 1:00 pm PDT from Vandenberg AFB, Calif., aboard an Air Force Minotaur IV rocket. The rocket delivers the Falcon to a starting point high in the atmosphere, where its engine ignite, and, if all goes well, it will blast through the air for about a half hour, DARPA says."

2 of 201 comments (clear)

Min score:

Reason:

Sort:

Re:13,000mph? by 2names · 2011-08-09 05:36 · Score: 4, Funny

Wrong, wrong, wrong. *Everyone* knows Mach 1 is the speed of sound in a vacuum. Sheesh, some people.

--
"I'm just here to regulate funkiness."
Re:13,000mph? by elrous0 · 2011-08-09 05:54 · Score: 3, Funny

Because they want to fly low over a city, blow the hell out of everyone's eardrums and windows, and prove once-and-for-all that the Flash would make a really shitty superhero in real life.

--
SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.