Aerodynamics
22x faster than a commercial jetliner in a regime that is not fully understood
- Requires detailed understanding of extreme pressures
- Expanding technical knowledge requires high-speed wind tunnel tests, computer simulations, and flight tests
- Air doesn’t travel around you -- You rip it apart.
Aerothermal Effects
HTV-2 surface temperatures reach 3500°F – hotter than a blast furnace capable of melting steel
- Carbon composite material keeps internal electronics 3,300 degrees cooler than the shell, only a few inches away
- Equivalent to a ‘glove’ for your hand dipped in molten hot steel that would keep your hand at 98°F
Guidance, Navigation & Control
Extremely high velocities make small disturbances big problems
- Travelling 13,000 mph requires precise sensing and near simultaneous response to flight path disturbances
- Imagine trying to steer around a pothole in the highway while traveling 3.6 miles per second
