Aurora and the X-43a

I've just realised that the X-43 (NASA's hypersonic project) bares quite a remarkable resemblance to the Aurora (or what it's supposed to look like).

X-43
www.dfrc.nasa.gov...

Aurora
www.fas.org...

They both look different in some places and obviously much different in size, but they take on the same shape, have the same underbelly intake design and are both hypersonic.

Anyone think that they are in someway linked? Or is it just a coincidence?

doubtfull.

the intake on the bottom is common place among scramjets, thats also why they look like a wedge, they take advantage of the aircrafts aerodynamics in order to funnel more air into the engine. If the Aurora exist, i still see no connection, its still possable that the Aurora has a PDE (Pulse Detonation Engine), which would mean they wouldn't even have there propulsion method the same.

I think all hypersonic aircraft need t have that triangular body-wing stricture to attain those speeds. I don't think that the X-43 is the Aurora, its just that they may look similar due to aerodynamic purposes.

I agree with West Point. you could make the same general comparison against just about any two delta wing aircraft. It's 'form fits function'.

What I really think is that Aurora doesn't exist... maybe it will never exist, because it's not necessary. About the fact that they look similar... well, Aurora is an invention, and X-43 (the project Hyper-X) is known from a long time... I guess somebody said... "well, how would an Hypersonic plane look like?" and he saw Hyper-X and... well, imagine the rest of the history

Aurora most likely did exist, and it probably had problems in the mid 90's which lead to the military putting a couple of SR's back in to service. And I think having a hypersonic stealth spy plane is necessary because it offer you capabilities that satellites cant.

I don't believe you can use a Spy plane for things that a satellite "can't do". It's much cheaper to increase resolution of spy satellites (that I believe there are much more than people think) than developing an "incredible new super high tech ultra secret plane"... don't understimate the capabilities of satellites...

Its not all about resolution its about what you are actually able to film, satellite paths can be predicted and using thrusters to change course reduces the life span of a satellite, and its much harder to jam a spy plane.

to predict a satellite path you must know that the satellite is there... and i believe that there are much more satellites in space than many people thinks. Also, there is the fact that countries that would be able to "predict satellite paths" are "america allies", so, spend so much money in such plane would be useless... but well, it's the typical waste of money that aerospace industry and governements like so much... so maybe there is an Aurora... but there is no need at all for this

Would you call Russia and China allies? Maybe in theory they are allies.





West Point, Out.

they have NEVER been so much dangerous, even not in Cold War... it's always the same history... "be afraid, they will attack us", it's what governments always do... are you really telling me that is necessary to make such plane to spy "enemies"? what are you gonna look for? China or Russia or the USA hasn't got anything to hide that worths all the waste of money of the militar industry... believe me. Nobody will ever use nuclear weapons to attack, or any mass destruction weapon you can think about. Nobody having the possibility to use mass destruction weapons wants a global scale war. All the militar industry isn't created to protect people... is created to "steal" money from the poor and give it to the rich ones... and make the poor people happy thanks to one thing called "fear". And so the poor people are happy because they think that all that money is used in building "fairy tales planes" or fighting terrorists, but it's not what Bush & co are doing, they are stealing, and when I talk about Bush I'm talking about all the presidents and people with power from all the countries... but now I've gone out from the main theme... I guess you're here to talk about planes, not about politics... sorry

originally posted by: WestPoint23
Aurora most likely did exist, and it probably had problems in the mid 90's which lead to the military putting a couple of SR's back in to service. And I think having a hypersonic stealth spy plane is necessary because it offer you capabilities that satellites cant.

Ben Rich wrote in his 1994 memoir recounting his experience as head of the Lockheed Skunk Works that Aurora was merely a Pentagon codename for funding B-2 production, and Pentagon official Colonel Adelbert W. “Buz” Carpenter in an interview in the documentary American UFOs admitted that he applied the name Aurora to funding for the B-2. The SR-71's true intended successor was Project Quartz (aka AARS), a joint CIA/NRO/USAF program in the late 1980s and early 1990s for a giant unmanned strategic reconnaissance flying wing that was canceled in 1992 due to high costs.

The X-43 was merely a technology demonstrator for testing air-breathing hypersonic flight at speeds in the Mach 7 to 10 speed range.

Link:
www.secretprojects.co.uk...