Rocket Lab is to launch a dedicated hypersonic test mission on its HASTE rocket for the USA’s Defense Innovation Unit, during late February.
The HASTE (Hypersonic Accelerator Suborbital Test Electron) rocket will deploy Dart AE (additive engineering), a scramjet-powered aircraft developed by Australian aerospace engineering firm Hypersonix. It will launch from Rocket Lab’s Launch Complex 2 at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Wallops Island, Virginia.
The flight will be Rocket Lab’s fourth hypersonic test mission in under six months. The company said the HASTE rocket provides testers with control over flight profiles and environments at speeds of up to Mach 20, a capability it described as unmatched commercially.
Rocket Lab said the increased launch tempo reflects its investment in hypersonic test capabilities for the USA and allied nations. The Defense Innovation Unit, which sits within the Department of War, is tasked with rapidly developing commercial and military/commercial dual-use technologies to address national security challenges.
HASTE is a suborbital variant of Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket, adapted to provide dedicated hypersonic flight test services. The platform is designed to lower cost barriers and increase access to high-speed test environments for government and allied customers.
Brisbane, Australia-based Hypersonix was founded in 2019 by David Waterhouse and Dr Michael Smart and has been working with the US military towards a flight test of its scramjet-based hypersonic technology for several years.
Hypersonix is one of several companies covered in our recently published and free-to-access indepth analysis of hypersonic testing and its challenges.
