NASA is preparing for a new…

NASA is preparing for a new phase in hypersonic aviation by funding industry studies aimed at expanding flight test capabilities for reusable airbreathing vehicles that can cruise at several times the speed of sound.

The agency has awarded short term study contracts to SpaceWorks Enterprises of Atlanta, Georgia, and Stratolaunch of Mojave, California, to examine how existing platforms could be adapted to conduct frequent and affordable hypersonic flight experiments. The work is managed under NASA's Hypersonic Technology Project within the Advanced Air Vehicles Program.

The X 60 is a small rocket based flight research platform designed to be launched from an aircraft and reach relevant flight regimes for high speed experimentation. In the new study, SpaceWorks will examine how that platform could support reusable, high cadence test operations that would be useful to both NASA and commercial partners interested in hypersonic technologies.