The hypersonic vehicle DART AE was tested by the Australian company Hypersonix Launch Systems. It is made using 3D printing from high-temperature alloys and operates on hydrogen. The tests took place on February 28 from a launch site in Virginia under the order of the U.S. Department of Defense, where the vehicle reached a speed of 8 Mach — 9800 km/h.
The length of the hypersonic vehicle DART AE is 3.5 meters, and its development was carried out by Hypersonix Launch Systems. The launch was conducted using the HASTE launch vehicle from Rocket Lab at the launch site on Wallops Island, Virginia.
DART AE became the first hypersonic vehicle fully created using 3D printing. It is equipped with a SPARTAN air-breathing rocket engine that runs on hydrogen fuel, and its emissions consist of regular water.
The launch vehicle placed DART AE, weighing 300 kg, on a suborbital trajectory and accelerated it to 5 Mach. At an altitude of 26 km, the vehicle's own engine was activated. As a result, DART AE reached a speed of 8 Mach (9800 km/h), traveling about 1000 km before landing in the Atlantic Ocean.
The vehicle is capable of reaching speeds of up to 12 Mach.
The launch was conducted at the request of the U.S. Department of Defense to test 3D printing technologies, high-temperature materials, and autonomous guidance systems in real conditions. The collected telemetry data will be compared with digital models.
Michael Smart, co-founder of Hypersonix Launch Systems, noted that the results of this mission will have a significant impact on the design of future hypersonic vehicles.
Rocket Lab conducted a live broadcast of the launch; however, at the request of the developers, most of the flight was not shown.
The recording "The U.S. tested a 3D-printed rocket for the first time" appeared first on K-News.
