New-York to Los Angeles in 12 minutes… It would have been a record-breaker, had it worked:
The DARPA and USAF FALCON project might give anybody the thrill of speed as this « aerospacecraft » has been designed to reach Mach 20 i.e. around 20,000 km/h; 5.6 km/s; 10,800 knots; or 12,400 mph depending on the air temperature, and the altitude which might be above at least FL900!
![DARPA HTV-2 - 22 April 2011 DARPA USAF FALCON HTV-2 hypersonic aerospacecraft - 22 April 2011](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/FalconHTV2FlightPath.jpg/800px-FalconHTV2FlightPath.jpg)
Unfortunately, the project seems to encounter major difficulties as the last test which unfolded on August 11, 2011 failed again. The previous one – also on an HTV2 – had failed in April. Click on the right-hand side picture to get further information on the first test. The Blackswift (HTV-3X) had been designed by ATK; Boeing; Lockheed Martin; and Skunk Works to provided a strategic strike anywhere in the world within an hour. It was cancelled due to a lack of funds (see the HTV-3 shown in the following video):
- DARPA stands for Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
- FALCON stands for Force Application and Launch from CONtinental United States
- FL stands for Flight Level (FL x 100ft = altitude)
- HTV stands for Hypersonic Test Vehicle or Hypersonic Technology Vehicle
- RCS means here in the videos: Reaction Control System (and not Radar Cross Section)
Click on the picture below, and then on the blue arrows to watch the different phases of light:
![Flight Overview slide--UPDATED as of 29 Jul 11 Flight Overview slide, MACH-20 DARPA AEROSPACECRAFT](/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Flight-Overview-slide-UPDATED-as-of-29-Jul-11-300x225.gif)