USAF’s X-51A unmanned hypersonic air vehicle makes first flight, flying further on its own power than any other scramjet in history. A B-52 mothership carried aloft the Boeing-built X-51, which flew at Mach 5 for about 200 seconds before program officials terminated the flight. Pratt & Whitney- Rocketdyne developed the vehicle’s revolutionary SJY61 engine. USAF officials later revealed that testers had to prematurely terminate the flight because of a breached seal in the interface between the air vehicle and its engine.
Small satellites meant to improve the way the U.S. measures Earth’s magnetic field—an option to expand the military’s position, navigation, and timing enterprise—launched March 30 from Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif.
