Latest news with #MACH-TB
Axios
07-05-2025
- Business
- Axios
Stratolaunch goes hypersonic with reusable Talon-A vehicle
Two hypersonic flight tests were completed mere months apart using the same autonomous vehicle, a milestone for the U.S. as it jockeys with other world powers for speedy, maneuverable weapons. Why it matters: The Talon-A flights handled by Stratolaunch contribute to the Pentagon's Multi-Service Advanced Capability Hypersonic Test Bed program (MACH-TB). The U.S. has lacked a recoverable hypersonic aircraft for decades, since the X-15 was ditched. What they're saying: "We've now demonstrated hypersonic speed, added the complexity of a full runway landing with prompt payload recovery, and proven reusability," Stratolaunch CEO Zachary Krevor said in an announcement. In both instances, Talon-A launched from a larger aircraft known as Roc and landed at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California. What we're hearing: There are additional chefs in the kitchen. Leidos, for example, oversees MACH-TB. Northrop Grumman tested its Advanced Hypersonic Technology Inertial Measurement Unit aboard Talon-A. The company said it collected "hours of critical ground and flight data." Ursa Major's Hadley engine sustained the speeds. CEO Dan Jablonsky in March told Axios the company is pouring money into "hypersonics, hypersonics and hypersonics."
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Stratolaunch's Talon-A2 prototype goes hypersonic after dropping from world's largest airplane (photos)
Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Generate Key Takeaways When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Stratolaunch's Talon-2A hypersonic vehicle during one of its first two hypersonic test flights, in either December 2024 or March 2025. | Credit: Stratolaunch/Julian Guerra Stratolaunch Systems has gone hypersonic — twice. Stratolaunch took its uncrewed Talon-A2 prototype to hypersonic speeds for the first time this past December, then repeated the feat in March, the company announced on Monday (May 5). "We've now demonstrated hypersonic speed, added the complexity of a full runway landing with prompt payload recovery and proven reusability," Stratolaunch President and CEO Zachary Krevor said in a statement on Monday. "Both flights were great achievements for our country, our company and our partners." Stratolaunch's Roc carrier plane — seen here with the dart-shaped Talon-A2 hypersonic vehicle still attached — has a wingspan of 385 feet (117 meters). | Credit: Stratolaunch/Brandon Lim Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen established Stratolaunch in 2011, with the goal of air-launching satellites from a giant carrier plane called Roc, which has a wingspan of 385 feet (117 meters). That vision changed after Allen's 2018 death, however; the company is now using Roc as a platform to test hypersonic technology. Hypersonic vehicles are highly maneuverable craft capable of flying at least five times the speed of sound. Their combination of speed and agility make them much more difficult to track and intercept than traditional ballistic missiles. The United States, China and other countries view hypersonic tech as vital for national security, and are therefore developing and testing such gear at an ever-increasing pace. Stratolaunch, Roc and the winged, rocket-powered Talon-2A are part of this evolving picture, as the two newly announced test flights show. They were both conducted for the U.S. military's Test Resource Management Center Multi-Service Advanced Capability Hypersonic Test Bed (MACH-TB) program, under a partnership with the Virginia-based company Leidos. On both occasions, Roc lifted off from California and dropped Talon-2A over the Pacific Ocean. The hypersonic vehicle then powered its way to a landing at Vandenberg Space Force Base, on California's Central Coast. "These flights were a huge success for our program and for the nation," Scott Wilson, MACH-TB program manager, said in the same statement. "The data collected from the experiments flown on the initial Talon-A flight has now been analyzed and the results are extremely positive," he added. "The opportunity for technology testing at a high rate is highly valuable as we push the pace of hypersonic testing. The MACH-TB program is pleased with the multiple flight successes while looking forward to future flight tests with Stratolaunch." Stratolaunch's Talon-2A prototype lands at Vandenberg Space Force Base during a hypersonic test flight in either December 2024 or March 2025. | Credit: Stratolaunch/Brandon Lim Stratolaunch's statement didn't provide a payload list for the two flights, and a Department of Defense press release about them was similarly vague. But we do know at least one piece of tech that Talon toted — Northop Grumman's Advanced Hypersonic Technology Inertial Measurement Unit, which is designed to help hypersonic vehicles navigate. "Survivability of the navigation unit, also known as a hemispherical resonator gyroscope, is a major accomplishment due to the harsh environment hypersonic speed presents and the intense forces experienced as the technology operates within Earth's atmospheric boundary," Northop Grumman representatives said in a different statement. "This technology collected hours of critical ground and flight data, pivotal for future development." Related stories: — Stratolaunch launches 1st rocket-powered flight of hypersonic prototype from world's largest airplane — Stratolaunch flies world's largest airplane on 2nd test flight — Stratolaunch starts building Talon hypersonic plane for Mach 6 flights Stratolaunch isn't the only American company providing the U.S. military and other customers with a testbed for hypersonic tech: California-based Rocket Lab flies a suborbital variant of its workhorse Electron rocket called HASTE (Hypersonic Accelerator Suborbital Test Electron) for this purpose. HASTE has flown three times to date, on each occasion from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport in Virginia. And the cadence could pick up in the near future: Both the U.S. and U.K. militaries recently picked Rocket Lab as a potential partner for their hypersonic-tech programs.
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Talon-A exceeds Mach 5 speed as US successfully tests reusable hypersonic vehicle
Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Generate Key Takeaways In a step that could bolster the U.S.'s hypersonic weapons push, the Pentagon on Monday confirmed the second successful test of a reusable hypersonic vehicle in March, just three months after the first trial. The test marked the country's first return to reusable hypersonic flight testing since the end of the manned X-15 program in 1968. The revelation comes just days after the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) announced it had successfully demonstrated an end-to-end hypersonic flight test using a sea-based cold-gas launch system from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on April 25. Milestone tests The Stratolaunch Talon-A hypersonic vehicle was launched mid-air from the Roc carrier aircraft, flew over the Pacific Ocean, and exceeded speeds of Mach 5 before safely landing at Vandenberg Space Force Base. These milestone tests were conducted under the Test Resource Management Center's (TRMC) Multi-Service Advanced Capability Hypersonics Test Bed (MACH-TB) initiative. Stratolaunch, a California-based aerospace firm, developed the Talon-A test vehicle. Its first successful flight in December 2024 was not publicly disclosed until now. Roc—the world's largest aircraft with a twin fuselage—served as the launch platform for the Talon-A hypersonic vehicle. "Demonstrating the reuse of fully recoverable hypersonic test vehicles is an important milestone for MACH-TB. Lessons learned from this test campaign will help us reduce vehicle turnaround time from months down to weeks," said George Rumford, Director of the TRMC. Reusable design saves costs Unlike conventional single-use rockets, the reusable craft can be quickly redeployed at a lower cost, accelerating the development of next-generation weapons that fly at several times the speed of sound, reducing adversaries' response time, and bypassing traditional defenses. MACH-TB aims to accelerate the delivery of advanced hypersonic capabilities by enabling the Department of Defense (DoD), other federal agencies, industry, and academia to conduct affordable and rapid hypersonic experiments and test system components. NSWC Crane awarded the MACH-TB contract to Leidos on behalf of the TRMC. Leidos, as the prime contractor, then awarded a competitive contract to Stratolaunch to provide flight test services for the program. 'With the data collected from this second flight, we are able to apply lessons learned to enhance the strength and performance of the Talon-A vehicles. While the team needs to complete its data review of flight two, the first flight review confirmed the robustness of the Talon-A design while demonstrating the ability to meet the full range of performance capabilities desired by our customers,' said Dr. Zachary Krevor, President and CEO of Stratolaunch said in a release. 'We've now demonstrated hypersonic speed, added the complexity of a full runway landing with prompt payload recovery, and proven reusability. Both flights were great achievements for our country, our company, and our partners,' he added. The Talon-A test vehicle will help develop hypersonic weapons by allowing engineers to test engines, sensors, and communication systems aboard its reusable platform. The vehicle is powered by a Hadley liquid rocket engine built by startup Ursa Major. Hypersonic weapons fly in the upper atmosphere at speeds above Mach 5, or over 6,200 km (3,850 miles) per hour. U.S. defense giants like Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and RTX are all advancing their hypersonic programs. Contractors are also investing in systems to detect and defend against these fast-moving threats. The test comes as the United States intensifies its efforts to build hypersonic capabilities, joining Russia and China in a growing global race to master the technology. Russia has reportedly used hypersonic missiles in Ukraine, while China has denied testing such weapons, despite U.S. military claims.
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Defense contractor successfully launches, recovers hypersonic flight in test
May 5 (UPI) -- Stratolaunch successfully tested for the second time a fully recoverable uncrewed hypersonic vehicle for the Department of Defense in March, the private contractor and federal agency said Monday. Stratolaunch, based in the Mojave Desert in California and Nevada, first tested one in December. Reusable hypersonic flights are the first since the manned X-15 program was scrapped in 1968. The Stratolaunch Talon-A hypersonic vehicle launched from the twin-fuselage Roc carrier aircraft, flew over the Pacific Ocean and achieved speeds greater than Mach 5 before landing at Vandenberg Space Force Base, DOD said in a news release. Mach 5 refers to five times the speed of sound, or 3,806 to 7,680 mph. Roc, named after the griffin-like creature, can carry as much as 500,000 pounds of payload, or more than 33 large elephants. It has a wingspan that stretches 385 feet, larger than any other plane. The new program is called Multi-Service Advanced Capability Hypersonics Test Bed, or MACH-TB. "Demonstrating the reuse of fully recoverable hypersonic test vehicles is an important milestone for MACH-TB," George Rumford, director of the Department of Defense Test Resource Management Center, said. "Lessons learned from this test campaign will help us reduce vehicle turnaround time from months down to weeks." It will also help lower costs. "With the data collected from this second flight, we are able to apply lessons learned to enhance the strength and performance of the Talon-A vehicles," Stratolaunch CEO Zachary Krevor said. "We've now demonstrated hypersonic speed, added the complexity of a full runway landing with prompt payload recovery, and proven reusability. Both flights were great achievements for our country, our company, and our partners." MACH-TB provides the Defense Department, other federal agencies, industry and academia "the capability to affordably and rapidly conduct hypersonic experiments and test hypersonic system components," the release said. Stratolaunch has a contract to launch five MACH-TB flights, Defense News reported. Stratolaunch's mission, according to its website, is to "advance high-speed technology through innovative design, manufacturing, and operation of world-class aerospace vehicles." The company was founded in 2011. "I am in awe of what this team has achieved," Krevor said. "We've executed four incredible Talon-A flights, completed twenty-four Roc flights to date, flew two new supersonic and hypersonic airplanes in a single year, and we are firmly on the path to making hypersonic flight test services a reality." Stratolaunch has been making modifications to one of its launch platforms, a modified Boeing 747 jetliner called the Spirit of Mojave. Before the United States started the program, China and Russia made progress developing and fielding hypersonic systems of their own. In January, North Korea launched a hypersonic glide at first peak of 61 miles and a second peak of 26 miles, the state-run Korean Central News Agency reported. The range was estimated at 683 miles. "The hypersonic missile system will reliably contain any rivals in the Pacific region that can affect the security of our state," said North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, who oversaw the launch via a monitoring system.
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Stratolaunch hits milestone with fully reusable hypersonic testbed
The Pentagon announced Monday that California-based firm Stratolaunch completed two hypersonic test flights with its Talon-A vehicle, recovering the testbed on both and making history as the first fully autonomous vehicle to reach Mach 5 speeds and live to tell the tale. The flights were part of the Pentagon's Multi-Service Advanced Capability Hypersonic Testbed program, or MACH-TB, and occurred three months apart — one last December and the second in March. Both met all of the Defense Department's performance benchmarks within a 1% margin, according to Stratolaunch CEO Zachary Krevor. 'For the first one or two times going into the hypersonic regime, especially as we're going faster, it's a pretty incredible accomplishment,' Krevor told Defense News. But perhaps the more critical milestone was the ability to recover the Talon-A vehicle, known as TA-2, after both flights. The U.S. hasn't had a recoverable hypersonic aircraft since the X-15, which stopped flying in the late 1960s — and it's never had one that's fully autonomous. Those attributes allowed Stratolaunch's DOD customer, the Test Resource Management Center, to immediately recover and begin pulling data from the payloads it flew on TA-2. The ability to reuse the Talon-A will eventually make it a more affordable hypersonic testbed by 'orders of magnitude,' Krevor said. The lower the cost, the more accessible the vehicle is for DOD programs developing operational systems, whose demand for test opportunities far outpaces the Pentagon's current infrastructure. The Pentagon's renewed push for hypersonic systems — which can travel and maneuver at speeds above Mach 5 — follows decades of waning investment following the unraveling of the X-15 program. As China and Russia make progress developing and even fielding hypersonic systems of their own, the Defense Department in recent years has shown a renewed interest in the capability, though it has still struggled to field an operational system. To get after that testing challenge, DOD leaders have been on a path since 2022 to increase the department's hypersonic flight cadence to around one test per week, and MACH-TB is a big part of that initiative. The program uses systems like Talon-A — which is powered by Ursa Major's Hadley engine — as well as Rocket Lab's HASTE rocket and Kratos' Erinyes to test components and subsystems in a realistic flight environment that mimics the harsh conditions hypersonic vehicles face. Stratolaunch is on contract for five MACH-TB flights and will support a Missile Defense Agency test campaign later this year. Krevor said the company has a full flight manifest through 2025 and has started booking the Talon-A for 2026, but declined to comment on who those customers are. While increasing Talon-A's flight cadence is an overarching goal for the company, Krevor noted that for the first few tests, the emphasis is on expanding its flight envelope. That means flying the vehicle faster, performing more maneuvers and maintaining hypersonic speeds for longer durations in each successive test. Talon-A was able to do that for its first two flights and Stratolaunch hopes to build on those metrics in future tests. Krevor declined to provide a precise timeline for Talon-A's next flight, but said it is slated for later this quarter, so by June. Between the March test and this next flight, the team has been working in parallel to analyze flight data in order to understand how various components performed during hypersonic flight and whether those metrics matched its predictions. 'Because we are also expanding that performance envelope and going faster and faster on every flight, adding more maneuvers, there still is a healthy data analysis period, and so we're allowing that to really be the focus as opposed to dialing in the cadence,' Krevor said. Krevor said the company will shift its focus to 'dialing in' Talon-A's cadence by the second half of this year, though he wouldn't specify how many flights the vehicle would conduct. Those later tests will also help validate modifications the company has been making to one of its launch platforms, a modified Boeing 747 jetliner called the Spirit of Mojave. Stratolaunch's other carrier aircraft, Roc — a much larger, two-fuselage aircraft with a 385-foot wingspan — has conducted all of its flights to date, but having a second platform will allow the company to bring on more customers. The 747 modifications are progressing well, Krevor said, and he expects the aircraft to start flying by the summer or fall.
