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Science NASA reports rocket explosion on Wallops Island
Science NASA reports rocket explosion on Wallops Island | NASA reports rocket explosion on Wallops Island |
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| by William Atkins | |
| Saturday, 23 August 2008 | |
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Page 2 of 3 The rocket was carrying two experimental payloads. Featured Whitepaper
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Science DiscussionsSpecifically, the test would have included speeds up to Mach 8, eight times the speed of sound, or 5,280 miles (8,800 kilometers) per hour, and up to an altitude of 250 miles (400 kilometers). Hy-BoLT had the shape of a flat-head screwdriver, a shape designed to "pierce the atmosphere to assess the boundary layer, a very thin layer of air that flows over the surface of a vehicle in flight." It was a project of the Hypersonics Project of the NASA Fundamental Aeronautics Program. [NASA: "Team to Investigate Launch Failure", please note: photographs of the rocket and its payloads are included at this website] Before the flight, Mark Croom, chief enginner for Hy-BoLT, stated, "We should be able to conquer some of the challenges of hypersonic flight if we can get a better handle on air flow. At hypersonic speeds the temperature of the flow around the aircraft or spacecraft is so great that it affects just about everything. That includes the shape of the vehicle, the material it's made of and even the chemistry of the molecules in the air." [NASA] Page three talks about the other primary payload. |
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