Fastest plane ever launches in Mach 20 test

So they lost contact with a craft speeding along at Mach 20. Shocking. But does anyone know where the Falcon is now?

It's been a long day, Falcon is probably on the way to the beach lol

Or better yet, maybe it had alien parts and decided to fly home lol.

On a serious note if that thing broke up ???? at Mach 20, doubt there going to find anything, and what is stated above is the last I heard too

This is still a big advancement in Hypersonic Technology, I hope we'll be able to produce the material to accommodate that type of stress in sub-orbit.

Let me get this right - The government uses bazillions of dollars to make a rocket that will travel to sub-orbital space, glide at mach 20, then crash into the ocean - both attempts resulting in loss of contact.

Isn't it wonderful to see how the government uses our money in these dark economic times. (sigh)

I don't think any of us know how fast the War On Terror can go so maybe M 20 is the possible upper limit. Thank the Lord for our Pentagon Battle forecasters.

I seem to recall that there was lost communications with the early space program capsules as they reentered the atmosphere. Wasn't there a timeframe when the heat shields on Gemini (and perhaps the Mercury) spacecraft generated some ionization that knocked out radio comm with the earth for about a minute or so? Or is my memory simply not what it used to be?

I challenge the statement that this is the 'fastest plane', it's more of a sub-orbital rocket glider. I think the title for the fastest true aeroplane to take off and land under it's own power in one piece is still the SR-71.

Wingscruber, you are right, unless the Aurora project exists or not who knows> luv that plane too.

Regards to coment made by i beleive, the blackout period for the Mercury, Gemini and the Apollo was Around 3-5 minutes.

http://www.gizmag.com/htv-2-second-test-flight/19503/

Robert: Thanks for the space capsule info. Is this something that has been resolved? I would have thought so, considering the Shuttle operations went for 30 years and I never heard anything about comm blackouts. Do you have anything else you may know to shed some light? Thank you in advance.

u.f.o.s aliens must look down at the 13,000 m.ph.rocket, commenting, look at that, from a 3 wheeler to a 2 wheeler WOW!

I agree with Michael Fuq. And next, watch us sell/give it to all our "friends", like the Saudis and Mexicans, so in 5 years someone (the real terrorists) can use yet another war machine we paid for on us (again). sigh

to h.w.lam - i agree with your comment. but this has being going on for HOW LONG.any way to make money. missle, anti-missile, anti-anti missle on an on. sell our souls, we will fix it later

The idea being... we talk about AVIATION here, not turning it into the average blogosphere of nonsense, comedy, and politics.

Can we get back to the real subjects.

THANKS!

Until the creation of the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System, the Space Shuttle would, like Gemini, Mercury, Apollo, and others, endure a 30 minute long communications blackout before landing. However, the Shuttle can communicate with a Tracking and Data Relay Satellite during re-entry. This is because the shape of the Shuttle creates a

"hole" in the ionized air envelope, at the tail end of the craft, through which it can communicate upwards to a satellite in orbit and thence to a ground station.

after skipping like a flat rock accross the big pond into china's hands