NASA has awarded contracts to two companies to conduct industry studies on how existing vehicles could be adapted for flight testing for airbreathing hypersonic technologies.
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Who Received the NASA Awards?
The agency said Friday SpaceWorks Enterprises received a $500,000 study contract to further develop its X-60 platform, while Stratolaunch was awarded a $1.2 million deal to evaluate modifications to its Talon-A vehicle. Both companies will conduct a six-month study to explore how their platforms could be adapted for reusable, high-tempo and cost-effective flight testing.
“With these awards, NASA will collaborate with the commercial hypersonics industry to identify new ways to evaluate technologies through flight tests while we address the challenges of reusable, routine, airbreathing, hypersonic flight,” said Nateri Madavan, director of advanced air vehicles program at NASA.
How Is NASA Advancing Hypersonic Technology?
Through its Hypersonic Technology Project, NASA is developing reusable aircraft that achieve sustained hypersonic flight by “airbreathing” or using surrounding air for combustion, rather than carrying onboard oxygen like traditional rockets.
The awards are designed to help the industry define flight test capability requirements and may support a future NASA Making Advancements in Commercial Hypersonics, or MACH, initiative aimed at advancing commercial hypersonic vehicles and related infrastructure. The effort supports the broader goal of advancing hypersonic research under the Advanced Air Vehicles Program.
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