spacetoday.net: X-43 test flight delayed

Posted: Tue, Nov 16, 2004, 7:54 AM ET (1254 GMT)
X-43A illustration (Orbital)

The third and final test flight of the X-43A unmanned hypersonic aircraft was delayed Monday because of a technical glitch. The X-43A was scheduled to launch at around 5 pm EST (2200 GMT), an hour after its B-52 carrier aircraft took off from Edwards Air Force Base in California. However, the B-52 never took off because of an instrumentation system problem with the X-43; while the problem was resolved, the preflight checklist could not be completed before the launch window closed at 7 pm EST (0000 GMT). Another launch attempt is tentatively planned for Tuesday afternoon. The X-32A is designed to fly at up to Mach 10 to test scramjet technologies. A X-43A test flight earlier this year reached Mach 7, while the first test flight failed in 2001 because of a problem with the Pegasus-derived booster that accelerates the X-43 after release from the B-52. A follow-on program to the X-43A, the X-43C, was cancelled by NASA earlier this year as the agency refocuses its technology development efforts on the exploration vision.