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NASA and Air Force Want New Hypersonics Shop

The Mach-6, "hypersonic" Blackswift plane (pictured) under development by Darpa, the Pentagon’s fringe research group, could be on the verge of cancellation. But that doesn’t mean the Air Force is giving up on super-speedy aircraft. With the $800-million Blackswift running into "big unknown" technical problems, especially with its engines, the Air Force is getting back […]

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The Mach-6, "hypersonic" Blackswift plane (pictured) under development by Darpa, the Pentagon's fringe research group, could be on the verge of cancellation. But that doesn't mean the Air Force is giving up on super-speedy aircraft.

With the $800-million Blackswift running into "big unknown" technical problems, especially with its engines, the Air Force is getting back to basics, teaming up with NASA and universities to explore basic hypersonic technologies, Aviation Week reports.

NASA's Hypersonics' Project and the Air Force Office of Scientific
Research plan to set aside up to $30 million over five years to fund the [national hypersonic science] centers, meaning a maximum grant of about $2 million a year.

The targets are "three critical research areas: air-breathing propulsion; materials and structures; and boundary layer control."

The money involved is small change compared to Blackswift's
$100-million-plus annual budget, but at least it keeps hypersonics alive, fueling hope that one day, maybe, the Marine Corps will get its sub-orbital, hypersonic spaceplane-transport.

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