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![Falcon HTV-2 Hypersonic Plane Deploys]()
The second flight of the Hypersonic Technology Vehicle 2, developed by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, is scheduled to launch Wednesday aboard a Minotaur IV Lite rocket.![Falcon Hypersonic Technology Vehicle (HTV)-2]()
The early morning launch is the second flight of the 13,000-mph HTV-2 test vehicle, in a test series designed to validate technologies that will enable high-performance, long-duration, and maneuverable hypersonic flight, the military agency said.![Falcon HTV-2 Hypersonic Plane Flight Overview]()
An overview of the planned test flight for the HTV-2 vehicle shows the various phases it goes through on its flight.![Falcon HTV-2 Hypersonic Plane Illustration]()
The HTV-2, seen here in an illustration by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, launches atop an Orbital Sciences Corp. Minotaur IV rocket, which uses decommissioned Peacekeeper intercontinental ballistic missile motors.![Falcon HTV-2 Hypersonic Plane]()
The goal of the project is to eventually enable the U.S. military to strike anywhere in the world in less than an hour.![DARPA_Falcon_Concept]()
This conceptual image shows DARPA's vision of a hypersonic glider, a cancelled version of the vehicle known as the Falcon Hypersonic Technology Vehicle 3X.![Falcon HTV-2 Hypersonic Plane HTV -3X]()
The HTV-3X, a somewhat different vision of hypersonic travel from the Defense Advanced Projects agency.![Falcon HTV-2 Hypersonic Plane Progression 2008]()
A 2008 presentation by DARPA mapped out the agency's goals for hypersonic flight, including the various "Falcon vehicles": the HTV-2, a next-generation version named the HTV-3X, and the ultimate goal.Inside the Air Force's 13,000-MPH Hypersonic Plane
An unmanned aircraft that can travel at a breakneck pace 20 times the speed of sound will take off Wednesday from an Air Force base in California for a test flight.
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- Inside the Air Force's 13,000-MPH Hypersonic Plane
