A rocket built by New Zealand-founded company Rocket Lab blasted off from Wallops Island in Virginia, United States. Leaving at 1pm on Saturday, it was launched to carry out a special hypersonic test for the US Department of War. The rocket, named “That’s Not A Knife”, launched from Launch Complex 2 at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport.
This was the second successful hypersonic mission Rocket Lab has carried out for the department’s Defense Innovation Unit. It was also the seventh launch of the company’s HASTE rocket. So far, every HASTE mission has been a success.
HASTE stands for Hypersonic Accelerator Suborbital Test Electron. It is a suborbital rocket, which means it travels into space but does not stay there in orbit around Earth.
During this mission, the rocket released DART AE, a high-speed aircraft developed by Australian company Hypersonix. The aircraft is powered by a scramjet engine and flew at several times the speed of sound. Flying faster than five times the speed of sound is known as hypersonic speed.
Rocket Lab said the mission supports efforts to develop advanced hypersonic technology. These technologies are seen as important for national security.
Brian Rogers, Rocket Lab’s vice president of global launch services, said the launch was a proud moment for the team. Hypersonix chief executive Matt Hill added that the successful flight was a major step forward in testing reusable hypersonic aircraft.
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