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Hypersonic Scramjet Launch Delayed by East Coast Weather
26 Feb
Summary
- A Queensland-made hypersonic scramjet was set for a test launch.
- Bad weather on the US east coast caused the launch delay.
- The scramjet is capable of Mach 12 speeds.
A planned test launch of the Dart AE hypersonic scramjet, developed by Brisbane-based Hypersonix, has been delayed due to adverse weather. The launch was scheduled from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.
The mission, humorously titled 'That's Not a Knife,' aimed to send the scramjet, capable of traveling at 12 times the speed of sound, over the Atlantic Ocean. However, Rocket Lab cited 'out-of-bounds launch commit criteria' related to weather, causing the delay.
Once released from its HASTE rocket at an altitude of approximately 50 kilometers, the Dart AE's engine was intended to ignite for its flight. The mission's postponement highlights the challenges of weather dependency in aerospace testing.
