National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics 11-in. hypersonic research wind tunnel opens at Langley, Virginia.
1949
Credit: Boeing
German V-2 boosted WAC Corporal rocket becomes first vehicle to exceed Mach 5.
1951
Credit: Aviation Week Archive
First flight of X-7 ramjet high-speed research vehicle.
1956
Credit: Aviation Week Archive
Lockheed X-17 reentry test vehicle flight tests begin.
1958
Credit: Tennessee State Library and Archives
First hypersonic research wind tunnel opens at Arnold Engineering Development Complex, Tennessee.
1959
Credit: Aviation Week Archive
First flight of rocket-powered X-15 hypersonic research aircraft.
1959
Credit: Boeing
Launch of Boeing X-20 Dyna-Soar manned boost-glide vehicle project, not flown and canceled in 1963.
1959
Credit: Alpha Draco National Archives
U.S. Air Force Alpha Draco boost-glide experimental test vehicle flight tests.
1963
Credit: USAF
First flight of Air Force ASSET (Aerothermodynamic/elastic Structural Systems Environmental Tests) boost-glide test vehicle.
1964
Credit: San Diego Air & Space Museum
NASA Hypersonic Research Engine (HRE) ramjet/scramjet project launched, ground tested.
1965
Aerojet ground-tests air turbo ramjet combined cycle engine.
1966
Credit: USAF
First flight of Air Force PRIME (Precision Recovery Including Maneuvering Entry) reentry flight vehicle.
1968
Credit: USAF
Atlas-boosted Air Force Boost Glide Reentry Vehicle flight test.
1978
Credit: Aviation Week Archive
Air Force classified Advanced Manned Spaceflight Capability piloted-rocketplane program, later became TransAtmospheric Vehicle. Not flown; canceled in 1986.
1978
Credit: USAF
First test flight of Minuteman ICBM-boosted Advanced Maneuverable re-entry Vehicle, paving way for Sandia Winged Energetic Reentry Vehicle Experiment tests in 1980s and Advanced Hypersonic Weapon test in 2011.
1981
Credit: Aviation Week Archive
Space shuttle first orbital flight and hypersonic reentry.
1982
Credit: Aviation Week Archive
Start of classified DARPA Copper Canyon air-breathing single-stage-to-orbit project, evolved into X-30 National Aerospace Plane in 1986. Not flown; canceled in 1990s with termination of follow-on Hypersonic Systems.
1995
Credit: Aviation Week Archive
Orbital Sciences selected by NASA for X-34 orbital launch vehicle. Not flown; canceled in 2001
1996
Credit: Aviation Week Archive
NASA begins X-33 single-stage-to-orbit rocketplane to be built by Lockheed Martin. Not flown; canceled in 2001.
2001
Credit: Aviation Week Archive
First flight of scramjet-powered X-43/Hyper-X. Second flight at Mach 7 in March 2004 marked first known operation of a scramjet in flight. Third flight in November 2004 attained Mach 9.6.
2002
Credit: Aviation Week Archive
DARPA, Boeing, U.S. Navy Hypersonic Flight Demonstration (HyFly), a dual combustion ramjet-powered strike missile demonstrator program launched. Final test attempt failed in 2010.
2009
Credit: AFRL
First experimental test flight of joint U.S.-Australian HiFiRE (Hypersonic International Flight Research Experimentation) fundamental research program.
2010
Credit: USAF
First launch of Boeing, Air Force, DARPA, NASA, Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne scramjet-powered X-51A WaveRider. Achieved Mach 5.1 and 210 sec. of hypersonic flight on final flight in 2013.
2010
Credit: USAF
First unsuccessful flight of DARPA Falcon Hypersonic Test Vehicle 2 (HTV-2) intended to demonstrate prompt global strike capability at Mach 20. Second flight lost in 2011 due to aeroshell degradation.
2013
Credit: Aviation Week Archive
Lockheed Martin unveils Mach 6 SR-72 surveillance/strike concept aircraft to Aviation Week.
2016
Credit: Aviation Week Archive
Lockheed Martin and Raytheon win contracts to compete for DARPA/Air Force Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapon Concept (HAWC) program.
2016
Credit: Lockheed Martin
DARPA awards Tactical Boost Glide technology demonstration program to Lockheed Martin.
2017
Credit: DARPA
Aerojet Rocketdyne and Orbital ATK awarded contracts under DARPA’s AFRE turbine based combined cycle program.
2018
Credit: Boeing
Boeing unveils concept for Mach 6 reusable hypersonic demonstrator.
2018
Credit: kremlin.ru
Russia tests the hypersonic ‘Khinzal’ (Dagger) missile with launch from MiG-31.
2019
Credit: mil.ru
Russia deploys Avangard missile, declared to have Mach 27 top speed and 6,000 km. range.
2020
Credit: USAF
U.S. Air Force cancels High-Speed Strike Weapon (HSSW) as development priority remains on Air-Launched rapid response weapon (ARRW). Flight tests of U.S. Hypersonic Air- Breathing Weapon Concept (HAWC) missile interrupted after mishap.
2021
Credit: ADF
The U.S. and Australia begin the next phase of their long-running hypersonic co-operation work with Australia under the Southern Cross Integrated Flight Research Experiment (SCIFiRE) project. The effort, which follows earlier fundamental high-speed research under the Hypersonic International Flight Research Experimentation Program, will mature technology for a hypersonic conventional cruise missile.
In competition with Russia and China, the U.S. is pushing its own hypersonic strike weapons research forward at a more rapid pace. Take a look at some of the significant milestones throughout the years.
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Tue, 08/17/2021 - 19:49
That looks an awful lot like the original 1920 NACA wind tunnel, base on a much earlier British design. Reminds me of the story of a NASA contractor who found his NASA counterparts did not know that December 17, 2003 would be a special day.
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Tue, 08/17/2021 - 19:51
Very cool picture, but not the version of the Wac that was used in Bumper. The naked V-2 may not have breeched M5, but it sure got close. Bumper was one of my favorites as a kid in the early 50s. My dad had a peripheral involvement with the project.
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Tue, 08/17/2021 - 19:55
The X-7 was a very significant vehicle. It reached m4.3 and disintegrated on its fastest flight. But its existence makes suspect the claim that the F-104 was based on the X-3 configuration. It also means that Lockheed had extensive experience above M3 before the A-12. The M4.3 had also been achieved by a Trommsdorff ramjet in 1944 or 1945. Neither hypersonic, but blazingly fast for airbreathers long, long ago.
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Tue, 08/17/2021 - 20:11
The pioneering work on hyper speed tunnels was done in Germany. They were running into the problem of atmospheric condensation at low temp. A very limitied test was done at Peenmunde c1943 at M9,5. The 40 cm tunnel was good to M4.4 in late 43 or so. This tunnel ended up as a US Naval research tool.
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Tue, 08/17/2021 - 20:12
The X-15 as flown in the picture was not hypersonic capable.
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Tue, 08/17/2021 - 20:18
I seem to recall that Avweek published info on a small GASL gun launched test vehicle which was the first to demonstrate thrust in free flight. Marquardt GASL (Tony Ferri) produced a quite advance scramjet -- very cool looking -- that was built but not flown in the 60s. Dad showed me the model, Avweek had a good painting, but I have never seen a photo of the gizmo.
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Fri, 01/28/2022 - 18:44
US hypersonic efforts remain, unfortunately, bound up in old thinking and revival of old program proposals from the majors. What is interesting is that the truly new-tech approach of the Australian Hypersonix design and prototyping (3D printed) scramjet air-breather is way ahead of current US programs and is looking to partner with the US as part of the AUKUS cooperation. Will Washington even acknowledge a "not invented here"?
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