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FALCON HTVs
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The path toward a hypersonic space plane has been a slow one, filled with twists and turns one would expect given the technological leap involved. Speeds of Mach 8+ place tremendous heat and resistance stresses on a craft. Building a vehicle that is both light enough to achieve the speeds desired at reasonable cost, and robust enough to survive those speeds, is no easy task.

The famous SR-71 Blackbird, which cruised at “only” Mach 3, made heavy use of titanium and had to use slip fits instead of rivets in many places, so that the plane wouldn’t tear itself apart when 800-900 degree surface temperatures made it expand. On the ground, and when being refueled shortly after takeoff, the plane would reportedly leak like a sieve until speed and heat had given the airframe its requisite fit. While the state of the art has advanced since then, so have the desired speeds – and the accompanying challenges.

Despite the considerable engineering challenges ahead, the potential of a truly hypersonic aircraft for reconnaissance, global strike/ transport, and low-cost access to near-space and space make DARPA’s FALCON HTV program a compelling goal to work toward on both engineering and military grounds. The question, as always, will be balancing the need for funding to prove out new designs and concepts, and risk management that ensures limited exposure if it becomes clear that the challenge is still too great for the nonce.

DID covers its ongoing developments below – including a development on the contractor side that may render contract competition plans moot.

• The FALCON Hypersonic Vehicle: Program & Challenges [updated]
• The FALCON Hypersonic Vehicle: Industrial Teams [new]
• FALCON Hypersonic Vehicle: Contracts & Key Events [updated]
• Additional Readings & Sources

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