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Think fast

Under a 2004 contract with the Defense Advanced Research Projects agency, Lockheed Martin Skunk Works has worked on a series of Hypersonic Technology Vehicles, including plans for the HTV-3X, the company’s Blackswift concept:

* HTV-1 — A so-called “wave-riding” space re-entry vehicle, shaped like a flattened ellipse, was shelved because tests showed that protective systems debonded from the vehicle upon re-entry. “Wave-riding” refers to a craft’s ability to ride its own hypersonic shock wave as it flies, by using the high lift-to-drag ratio created by its sleek shape.

* HTV-2 — A wave rider with sharp leading edges akin to those of high-performance aircraft. Lockheed Martin Skunk Works expects to fly two of these craft in 2009. Advocates want a version for prompt global strike capabilities. It would carry conventional warheads atop intercontinental ballistic missile boosters.

* HTV-3 — A wave rider that did not get far because of perceived overlap with NASA’s X-43A hypersonic demonstrator, a subscale, scramjet-powered aircraft NASA tested in 2004. The X-43A’s engine ran for 10 seconds at a speed close to Mach 10.

* HTV-3X — Lockheed Martin’s proposed Blackswift demonstrator. Work began when Lockheed won a Falcon program competition in 2004 over Boeing.