X-43A MISSION PROFILE (Seminar Hyperplanes)

Mission profile diagram of X-43A test flight released by NASA
X-43A released from B-52

The aim of NASA was to air launch the hyperplane assembly with the booster rocket.The mission was to air launch the hyperplane at 40,000ft with the help of a B-52B ( used as a heavy bomber by USAF ).The hyper plane assembly was carried under the wings of B-52.On 27 March B-52 took off from Edwards Air Force Base in the Mojave desert, California.It took 20 minutes for the B-52 to get to the launch zone at 40,000ft ( about 12km ) altitude and the booster rocket ( first stage of a Pegasus booster rocket ) was ignited at this altitude.This altitude was important to ensure that the X-43's initial velocity would be sufficiently high, about Mach 5, so that its engine may function properly.

After the ignition the rocket would assent and take the vehicle to a height of about 95,000ft (about 31km) and the payload (hyper plane) was released with ultimate precision.By this time the hyperplane had already achieved enough velocity to compress the air and start the scramjet engine.Here the fuel was injected and the vehicle flew at a speed of about Mach 7.7 ( about 7.7 times speed of sound ) for about 10 seconds.This created a world record for the maximum speed for a non rocket propelled aircraft ( jet propelled).

The non powered descent which was about 6 minutes, was also significant as the sensors on the vehicle transmitted important data before sinking into Pacific ocean.The vehicle completed a total flight of 650 km. The mission profile diagram released by NASA is shown above.The mission provided some important data which would pave way for the development of faster variants of hyper planes.