On June 17, the United States Department of Defense, in the context of hypersonic tests, launched the first spacecraft, the Rocket lab.
The launch took place at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia to test the program's first hypersonic payload suborbital flight Multi-Service Advanced Capability Hypersonic Test Bed, o MACH-TB.
MACH-TB is led by the Pentagon's Test Resource Management Center and the Naval Surface Warfare Center's Crane Division. The team selected Leidos as the program's first integrator last September, and California-based space company Rocket Lab is one of 12 subcontractors supporting the program.
"The success of this test demonstrated the possibility of carrying a hypersonic payload on a commercial launch vehicle. The program can now move on to the next stage”Tom Bell, chief executive officer of Leidos, said in a statement.
Hypersonic vehicles can fly at speeds of at least Mach 5, and the Pentagon has ramped up investment in high-speed aircraft and weapons in recent years, while Russia and China are already testing their own systems. The lack of test facilities and equipment capable of supporting flight demonstrations has limited the number of tests needed for program development. With the MACH-TB the Pentagon is trying to fill this gap.
In addition to serving as the program's technology integrator, Leidos is developing an experimental glide body that can be used to test hypersonic capabilities that could support several Department of Defense programs.
The first test of the MACH-TB took just 49 days from conception to flight, and Leidos expects future demonstrations to follow suit.
The June 17 launch was also the first flight of Rocket Lab's Hypersonic Accelerator Suborbital Test Electron, or HASTE. The vehicle is a derivative of the company's Electron rocket, featuring a modified kick stage that can deliver up to to 1.540 pounds and deploy a variety of hypersonic payloads.
"The success of this mission demonstrates collaboration between government and industry partners to change the paradigm of hypersonic testing."Brian Rogers, senior director of global launch services at Rocket Lab, said in a statement.HASTE enables frequent and cost-effective flight testing, which is necessary to advance the development of the nation's hypersonic technology."
The rocket will also support the program Hypersonic and High-Cadence Airborne Testing Capabilities of the Defense Innovation Unit, which is expected to make its first test flight next summer.
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