X-51A Crashes on Launch

Posted by Nick G.

Thursday, 16 August 2012 07:01

As a big fan of aeronautics and aviation, I was quite excited to hear about the X-51A's initial test to see just what it could do. Unfortunately, the launch was not without error, and took a nose-dive shortly after being released from its carrier. The error was due to a malfunction with one of the main fins and engineers are working hard to repair the damage and hopefully go for another test launch.

"The United States Air Force's third test flight of an X-51A Waverider hypersonic aircraft failed spectacularly Wednesday when it crashed seconds after being launched from a B-52 bomber.

The X-51A Waverider, shown here under the wing of a B-52 Stratofortress, is powered by a Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne SJY61 scramjet engine. It is designed to ride on its own shockwave and accelerate to about Mach 6.

A faulty control fin was to blame, X-51A program manager Charlie Brink stated.

"Everything was going correctly except for that small thing," Bill Hancock, a public affairs officer at the 88th Air Base Wing at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, told TechNewsWorld. "We had a good burn of the booster rocket and it separated from the scramjet, but it was the fin that caused the problem."

Source: Tech News World