X-41 Common Aero Vehicle
{{Short description|US military spaceplane}}
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{{Use American English|date = August 2019}}
{{infobox aircraft
| name = X-41 Common Aero Vehicle
| image =
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| type = Experimental maneuvering re-entry vehicle
| national_origin = United States
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| retired =
| status = Experimental research program
| primary_user = DARPA
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X-41 is the designation, initiated in 2003, for a still-classified United States military spaceplane. The X-41 is now part of the FALCON (Force Application and Launch from Continental United States) program sponsored by DARPA and NASA.
Description
Specifications or photos of the X-41 program have not been released to the public; thus little is known about its goals. It has been described as an experimental maneuvering reentry vehicle capable of transporting a 1,000-pound payload on a sub-orbital trajectory at hypersonic speeds and releasing that payload into the atmosphere. The word "Aero" in "Common Aero Vehicle" stood for "aeroshell", not "aerospace", because the CAV was a common aerothermodynamic shell for varying and multiple payloads.{{cite web |url=http://www.designation-systems.net/dusrm/app4/x-41.html |title = X-41 CAV}} The technology necessary for the X-41 is not known and reportedly has yet to be developed. However, it is believed to be a new form of hypersonic propulsion capable of exceeding Mach 7, perhaps reaching {{convert|9|Mach}}.
See also
References
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External links
- [http://www.globalsecurity.org/space/systems/x-41.htm GlobalSecurity.org: X-41]
- [http://www.spacedaily.com/news/rocketscience-05l.html Spacedaily.com: CAV]
- [https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A38272-2005Mar15.html Pentagon Has Far-Reaching Defense Spacecraft in Works], Washington Post, March 16, 2005
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Category:2000s United States experimental aircraft
Category:Space launch vehicles of the United States
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