‘That’s not a knife’: Australian hypersonic aircraft takes flight in space after US launch
A hypersonic aircraft designed by Australia took flight in space after New Zealand-based space company Rocket Lab successfully launched its latest mission to the United States.
The HASTE rocket, arrogantly named That’s Not A Knife, lifted off from Mid-Atlantic Regional Space Station Launch Complex 2 from Wallops Island in Virginia at 11am (AEST) on Saturday.
The launch was Rocket Lab’s 82nd overall and the company’s third launch of the year.
HASTE, short for hypersonic accelerator suborbital test electron, is a suborbital vehicle designed for test missions that enter space but do not remain in orbit.
Footage of the launch captured the rocket hurtling against a pitch-black background, while an onboard camera offered an Earth-facing view.
“Well, it’s not a knife, it’s our HASTE rocket on your screen,” the announcer joked, describing the launch as a “textbook launch”.
This was Rocket Lab’s second successful hypersonic test mission for the U.S. War Department’s Defense Innovation Unit and the seventh HASTE launch overall with an excellent record of success to date.
The mission saw the deployment of DART AE, a scramjet-powered aircraft developed by Australian aerospace engineering company Hypersonix, into a hypersonic suborbital flight environment at several times the speed of sound.
Rocket Lab said the mission supports “a critical national priority for the United States and its allies to advance hypersonic technology.”
Brian Rogers, Rocket Lab’s vice president of global launch services, described the launch as “another proud moment for the HASTE team and a great showcase of the important commercial platform that has become for the War Department.”
“Regular and reliable HASTE launches help accelerate the nation’s hypersonic readiness, and we are proud to provide the foundation for a new era of testing of this critical technology to protect the space security of the United States,” said Mr. Rogers.
Hypersonix CEO Matt Hill said flying the DART AE in a true hypersonic environment is a “major milestone” for the company’s flight test program, bringing it closer to delivering reusable hypersonic capability.
