『每日軍事武器鑑賞』－ X-43 超音速 無人駕駛飛機

克里斯Chris

X-43 Hyper-X Program



NASA has established a multi-year experimental hypersonic ground and flight test program called Hyper-X. The program seeks to demonstrate "air-breathing" engine technologies that promise to increase payload capacity or reduce vehicle size for the same payload for future hypersonic aircraft and/or reusable space launch vehicles. Payload capacity will be increased by discarding the heavy oxygen tanks that rockets must carry and by using a propulsion system that uses the oxygen in the atmosphere as the vehicle flies at many times the speed of sound. Hydrogen will fuel the program's research vehicles, but it requires oxygen from the atmosphere to burn.

The multi-year NASA/industry Hyper-X program seeks to demonstrate airframe-integrated, "air-breathing" engine technologies that promise to increase payload capacity for future vehicles, including hypersonic aircraft (faster than Mach 5) and reusable space launchers. The X-43 will be the first free-flying demonstration of an airframe-integrated, air-breathing engine and will extend the flight range to Mach 10. Prior flight experiments conducted by the Russians using a rocket booster have demonstrated air-breathing engine operation at Mach 5 to 6 conditions. Extending air-breathing technologies to much greater speeds requires the development of scramjet engines

Conventional rocket engines are powered by mixing fuel with oxygen, both of which are traditionally carried onboard the aircraft. The Hyper-X vehicles, designated X-43A, will carry only their fuel - hydrogen - while the oxygen needed to burn the fuel wil come from the atmosphere. By eliminating the need to carry oxygen aboard the aircraft, future hypersonic vehicles will have room to carry more payload. Another unique aspect of the X-43A vehicle is that the body of the aircraft itself forms critical elements of the engine, with the forebody acting as the intake for the airflow and the aft section serving as the nozzle. These technologies will be put to the test during a rigorous flight-research program at NASA Dryden.


NASA Dryden has several major roles in Phase I of the Hyper-X program, which is a joint Dryden/NASA Langley Research Center program being conducted under NASA's Aeronautics and Space Transportation Technology Enterprise. Dryden's primary responsibility is to fly three unpiloted X-43A research vehicles to help prove both the engine technologies, the hypersonic design tools and the hypersonic test facilities developed at Langley. NASA Langley, Hampton, Va., has overall management of the Hyper-X program and leads the technology development effort.

Through this Langley/Dryden/industry partnership, the Hyper-X program fulfills a key Agency goal of providing next-generation design tools and experimental aircraft to increase design confidence and cut the design cycle time for aircraft.

克里斯Chris

Specifically, Dryden will:

Fly three unpiloted X-43A vehicles between January 2000 and September 2001.

Evaluate the performance of the X-43A research vehicles at Mach 7 and 10.

Demonstrate the use of air-breathing engines during flights of the X-43A vehicles.

Provide flight research data to validate results of wind tunnel tests, analysis and other aeronautical research tools used to design and gather information about the vehicles.

As the lead Center for the flight-research effort, Dryden engineers are working closely with their colleagues from Langley and industry to refine the design of the X-43A vehicles. Dryden also is managing the fabrication of both the X-43A vehicles and the expendable booster rockets that will serve as launch vehicles. Dryden also will perform flight-research planning as well as some vehicle instrumentation and provide control of the tests.

克里斯Chris

Unlike conventional aircraft, the X-43A vehicles will not take off under their own power and climb to test altitude. Instead, NASA Dryden's B-52 aircraft will climb to about 20,000 feet for the first flight and release the launch vehicle. For each flight the booster will accelerate the X-43A research vehicle to the test conditions (Mach 7 or 10) at approximately 100,000 feet, where it will separate from the booster and fly under its own power and preprogrammed control. Flights of the X-43A will originate from the Dryden/Edwards Air Force Base area, and the missions will occur within the Western Sea Range off the coast of California. The current flight profile calls for launching the X-43A vehicles heading west. The flight path for the vehicles varies in length and is completely over water.


The B-52 Dryden will use to carry the X-43A and launch vehicle to test altitude is the oldest B-52 on flying status. The aircraft, on loan from the U.S. Air Force, has been used on some of the most important projects in aerospace history. It is one of two B-52s used to air launch the three X-15 hypersonic aircraft for research flights. It also has been used to drop test the various wingless lifting bodies, which contributed to the development of the Space Shuttle. In addition, the B-52 was part of the original flight tests of the Pegasus booster. Modified Pegasusｮ boosters will serve as the launch vehicles.

克里斯Chris

Current Status


On Aug. 11, 1998, the first piece of hardware was delivered to NASA - a scramjet engine that will be used for a series of ground tests in NASA Langley's 8 Foot High Temperature Tunnel. This engine could later be used for flight if necessary.


The first flight engine will be mated to the X-43 flight vehicle in February 1999 and delivered to NASA Dryden leading to the first flight of the program in early 2000. The next major delivery will be the X-43A airframe integrated with the second engine and adapter to NASA Dryden in June 1999. The engine will be transported to Langley for a series of wind tunnel tests in the 8-Foot High-Temperature Tunnel beginning in early 1999 prior to the first scheduled flight in early 2000.
Orbital Sciences Corp., Dulles, Va., is designing and building three Pegasus-derivative launch vehicles for the series of X-43A vehicles, a process that Dryden will oversee. A successful critical design review for the launch vehicle was held at Orbitalｹs Chandler, Ariz., facility in December 1997.

NASA selected MicroCraft Inc., Tullahoma, Tenn., in March 1997 to fabricate the unpiloted research aircraft for the flight research missions, two flights at Mach 7 and one at Mach 10 beginning in 2000. Micro-Craft is aided by Boeing, which is responsible for designing the research vehicle, developing flight control laws and providing the thermal protection system; GASL Inc., which is building the scramjet engines and their fuel systems and providing instrumentation for the vehicles; and Accurate Automation, Chatanooga, Tenn.

Air-Breathing Scramjet Engine Technologies


This challenging ground and flight-research program will expand significantly the boundaries of air-breathing flight by being the first to fly a "scramjet" powered aircraft at hypersonic speeds. Demonstrating the airframe-integrated ramjet/scramjet engine tops the list of program technology goals, followed by development of hypersonic aerodynamics and validation of design tools and test facilities for air-breathing hypersonic vehicles. The scramjet engine is the key enabling technology for this program. Without it, sustained hypersonic flight could prove impossible.

Ramjets operate by subsonic combustion of fuel in a stream of air compressed by the forward speed of the aircraft itself, as opposed to a normal jet engine, in which the compressor section (the compressor blades) compresses the air. Unlike jet engines, ramjets have no rotating parts. Ramjets operate from about Mach 2 to Mach 5.

Scramjets (supersonic-combustion ramjets) are ramjet engines in which the airflow through the whole engine remains supersonic. Scramjet technology is challenging because only limited testing can be performed in ground facilities. Long duration, full-scale testing requires flight research. Hyper-X will help build knowledge, confidence and a technology bridge to very high Mach number flight.

Currently, the world's fastest air-breathing aircraft, the SR-71, cruises slightly faster than Mach 3. The highest speed attained by NASA's rocket-powered X-15 was Mach 6.7. The X-43A aircraft is designed to fly faster than any previous air-breathing aircraft.

克里斯Chris

Hyper-X Vehicle Specifications Length: approximately 12 ft Weight: approximately 2,200 lb Performance: Mach 7-10

(文章來自：Ｘ超音速記錄）

克里斯Chris

新的X-43A無人駕駛飛機掛在改裝的B-52轟炸機機翼下


2004年03月28日 格林尼治標準時間10:28


美國宇航局說，一架超音速飛機以每小時7700公里的速度試飛成功，打破了非火箭動力飛機速度的世界紀錄。

這架七倍音速的X-43無人駕駛飛機是一種噴氣式飛機與火箭的結合，使用的是叫做“超音速易燃沖壓式噴氣發動機”技術，它可能預示不久的將來會出現新一代航天飛機推進系統。

克里斯Chris

這架七倍音速的X-43無人駕駛飛機是一種噴氣式飛機與火箭的結合，使用的是叫做“超音速易燃沖壓式噴氣發動機”技術，它可能預示不久的將來會出現新一代航天飛機推進系統。   

世界音速紀錄

X-43達到每小時7700公里(4780英里),7馬赫 SR-71‘黑鳥'噴氣式間諜飛機3.2馬赫 X-15試驗飛機使用火箭引擎達到6.7馬赫

這架4米長的試驗飛機挂載一架經改裝的B52轟炸機機翼下，從美國加州的愛德華茲空軍基地起飛，在12000米(4萬英尺)高空釋放後受到助推火箭的推進，達到3萬米(10萬英尺)的飛行高度，再以自身的


動力在加州上空飛行了10秒鐘，然後翻滾滑翔6分鐘，最終落入距加州海岸400英里（640公里）的太平洋。

這架X-43無人駕駛達到了七倍音速，打破了保持28年之久的非火箭動力飛機速度的世界紀錄，飛行速度大約在每小時7700公里。  雖然X-43只飛行了10秒鐘，但美國宇航局的發言人威廉姆斯女士說，“一切照計划進行……我們首次使兩架飛行器在馬赫7的速度下成功分離。”  

超燃沖壓噴氣機在1.2萬米高空脫離B52

項目主管勞施此前說，這個耗資2.3億美元的項目“可能預示著航空和航天飛行革命的開端”。  廉價宇宙飛行  超音速易燃沖壓式噴氣發動機(超燃沖壓噴氣機)燃燒氫，但所需的氧來自超高速壓進引擎的空氣，而火箭引擎必須攜帶自己的氧料源。  理論上講，超燃沖壓噴氣機技術可以用來替代正在老化的航天飛機，產生出新一代的客機，能在一個半小時內從倫敦飛往悉尼。  但BBC在華盛頓的記者說，這可能需要再過20多年的時間。  專家們預測，第一架由超燃沖壓噴氣機推動的載人飛機可能要到2025年才能升空。  這是美國宇航局發展替代型推進技術第二次進行X-43A試驗飛行，原型飛機在三年前進行類似的試驗飛行的時候，墜毀在加州的海岸外。

克里斯Chris

X-43

　　1994 年 11 月，美國Government取消了 NASA 耗資龐大的國家空天飛機（NASP）項目，X-30 試驗機也隨即下馬。為了順應「更好、更快、更廉價」的航空航天戰略，美國高超音速試驗計劃（Hyper-X）計劃應運而生，其中 X-43 就是其研究核心。X-43 計劃有 4 個型號即 X-43A、X-43B、X-43C 和 X-43D，其設計速度目標為馬赫 7 至馬赫 10。



X-43A 想像圖


X-43A 從助推火箭上分離的想像圖

克里斯Chris

　X-43A 與 X-30 不僅在外形上十分相似，而且發動機方案也都是採用機身一體化的超音速燃燒沖壓發動機。X-43A 的前機體設計成能產生激波的形狀，以對進入超音速燃燒沖壓發動機進氣道（安裝在機體下方）的空氣進行壓縮。X-43A 試驗飛機擁有先進的扁平小巧的機身，機身長 3.6 米，翼展 1.5 米，重量約為 1 噸。由於 X-43A 採用的是高超音速沖壓發動機，其燃料為飛機上攜帶的液態氫，助燃劑（氧化劑）為空氣中的氧，因而需要借助 B-52 載機和助推火箭飛入空中。

　　2001 年 6 月，X-43A 在第一次試飛中由於助推火箭偏離航線並出現翻滾被控制人員在空中緊急自毀。這次慘重的失敗，讓 X-43A 的試驗計劃大大延遲。直到 2004 年 3 月 27 日，X-43A 才開始了第二次試飛。B-52 載機在離太平洋海面大約 12,000 米的空域投下了「包裹」著 X-43A 的助推火箭，隨後助推火箭迅速爬升至 28,500 米的高空。這時，X-43A 從火箭中分離出來，依靠自身的超音速燃燒沖壓發動機工作了大約 10 秒鐘，最高速度達到 8,000 公里/小時，相當於 7 馬赫，已經超過了使用火箭動力的 X-15A-2 試驗機創造的 6.72 馬赫。這之後，X-43A 發動機停轉，並在空中自由滑翔飛行約 6 分鐘後，按預定計劃墜入加利福尼亞州附近的太平洋海域。X-43A 的試飛成功具有劃時代的意義，由於不像使用火箭發動機的飛行器那樣必須攜帶所有的燃料和助燃劑，採用高超音速沖壓發動機的飛行器不僅能夠減小自身體積，還能夠提高飛行器有效載荷量。如在軍事應用中，與 X-43A 類似的飛行器將能攜帶更大重量的打擊武器，其小巧的體積也讓敵方防不勝防。



攜載 X-43A 的助推火箭與載機 B-52 脫離


助推火箭發動機點火

克里斯Chris

X-43B 將於 2010 年以前試飛，與 X-43A 不同它將採用渦輪發動機和吸氣超音速燃燒沖壓發動機的組合動力。這種新穎的組合動力可以自動調整使用那種推動力以使飛行達到最佳速度：當飛機的速度只有兩倍音速左右時，飛機借助渦扇噴氣發動機前進，這同普通飛機沒有兩樣；當飛機在以高超音速飛行時（5 至 15 馬赫），它就開始利用吸氣超音速燃燒沖壓發動機推進。X-43C 則用來驗證裝有超音速燃燒沖壓發動機的飛行器從 5 馬赫加速到 7 馬赫時的自由飛行性能和超音速燃燒沖壓負電荷的性能，其採用的發動機具有普通沖壓發動機和超音速沖壓發動機的兩種工作模式，預計將於 2008 年進行試飛。X-43D 的研製工作也在進行中，它將裝備一種冷卻氫氣燃料的雙模式超音速沖壓噴氣發動機，可將 X-43D 的速度增加至 15 馬赫。


X-43A 三視圖