Article Posted on : - Jun 17, 2011

The X-51 WaveRider. A Boeing Photo

EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, CALIFORNIA (BNS): The second test flight of US Air Force’s experimental hypersonic aircraft, X-51 WaveRider, has ended in failure, the US media reported Friday.

The mission involved a B-52 bomber which was to release the aircraft at an altitude of 50,000 feet off the Pacific coast.

The B-52 bomber carrying the WaveRider took off from the Edwards Air Force Base in California on June 13 Monday.

Once the bomber reached the height of 50,000 feet near Point Mugu, it released the hypersonic plane “and it fell like a bomb for about four seconds before its booster rocket engine ignited and propelled the aircraft,” the Los Angeles Times reported.

The aircraft was supposed to get separated from the bomber and speed across the sky, powered by an air-breathing combustion engine, but that didn’t happen.

“A momentary lapse in airflow to the engine caused a shutdown and the X-51 plunged into the ocean within the test range,” the news report said.

Engineers are evaluating the data collected during the test flight to identify the cause of the problem, it said quoting the Air Force.

“Obviously we're disappointed and expected better results,” Charlie Brink, the Air Force X-51 programme manager, said in a statement. “But we are very pleased with the data collected on this flight.”

The USAF had conducted the first test flight of the X-51 WaveRider on May 26, 2010. The maiden flight had lasted for over 200 seconds, the longest ever hypersonic flight powered by scramjet propulsion.

The WaveRider, built by Boeing and Pratt and Whitney Rocketdyne, reached an altitude of 70,000 feet and a top speed of Mach 6. However, a vehicle anomaly led to the termination of the flight after 200 seconds.

The hypersonic plane is being designed to hit distant targets anywhere in the world within few minutes. It could also substitute for a ballistic missile armed with conventional warhead.