The Australian company Hypersonix Launch Systems successfully conducted tests of its hypersonic vehicle DART AE, which is entirely made using 3D printing and high-temperature materials, operating on hydrogen. The launch took place on February 28 from a spaceport in Virginia under a contract with the U.S. Department of Defense, and the vehicle reached a speed of 8 Mach (9800 km/h).
The hypersonic vehicle DART AE is 3.5 meters long and was developed by Hypersonix Launch Systems. The vehicle was launched using the HASTE launch vehicle provided by Rocket Lab from the spaceport on Wallops Island, Virginia.
DART AE became the world's first hypersonic vehicle produced using 3D printing. It is equipped with a SPARTAN air-breathing engine and uses hydrogen fuel, resulting in the combustion producing regular water.
The launch vehicle placed the 300 kg apparatus on a suborbital trajectory, accelerating it to 5 Mach. At an altitude of 26 km, DART AE's own engine was activated. The vehicle traveled approximately 1000 km and successfully landed in the Atlantic Ocean, reaching a speed of 8 Mach (9800 km/h) in the process.
DART AE is capable of reaching speeds of up to 12 Mach.
The testing was conducted at the request of the U.S. Department of Defense to verify 3D printing technologies, high-temperature materials, and autonomous guidance systems. A comparison of telemetry with digital models is also planned.
Michael Smart, co-founder of Hypersonix Launch Systems, noted that the mission results will have a significant impact on the design of future hypersonic vehicles.
Rocket Lab organized a live broadcast of the launch; however, most of the flight was not shown at the request of the developers.
The record "The U.S. tested a 3D-printed rocket for the first time" was first published on K-News.
