Jun 2 2001
From The Space Library
NASA, conducting a test over the Pacific Ocean, aborted a planned attempt at the speed record for aircraft when the Pegasus rocket carrying a prototype X-43A jet veered out of control. NASA had employed a B-52 to carry the X-43A and the Pegasus rocket to 45,000 feet, where the test was to begin. According to the plan, the plane would release the Pegasus, which would then carry the X-43A to 100,000 feet (30,500 meters) before releasing the jet. Instead, however, the Pegasus rocket had gone out of control almost immediately after its release. NASA spokesperson Alan Brown explained: “The Pegasus went out of control. It appeared parts were breaking off of it.” NASA ordered the Pegasus destroyed after only a few seconds, and the ensuing explosion resulted in the loss of the scramjet as well. NASA officials and flight enthusiasts had hoped that the US$185 million experimental plane would top speeds of Mach 7. Instead, engineers scrambled to determine the cause of the accident. (Peter Pae, “Hypersonic Aircraft Test Fails; Plane Is Destroyed,” Los Angeles Times, 3 June 2001; New York Times, “NASA Halts Scramjet Test,” 3 June 2001; Washington Post, “NASA Aborts Bid for Speed Mark, Blows Up Rocket,” 3 June 2001.)
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