Photo: Stratolaunch
MACH-TB is short for Multi-Service Advanced Capability Hypersonic Test Bed, and it's a program meant to speed up the pace at which America's military and its commercial partners advance hypersonic systems. You know, those pieces of hardware that will probably revolutionize both warfare and air transportation.
The program, run by the U.S. Navy and led by a company called Leidos, has been around for a while, and it keeps adding new partners. The latest company to join the party is Stratolaunch, which will contribute its Talon-A reusable and autonomous hypersonic aircraft to the effort.
Like many other such platforms currently being developed around the world, the Talon-A is nothing more than a test bed on which various technologies could be tested at hypersonic speeds.
Still under development (it was only back in 2022 when the first structurally complete example was presented), the Talon will eventually be a rocket-powered device capable of going at speeds of over Mach 5 (3,836 mph/6,174 kph).
The missile-like drone does not launch from the ground, but it is released from the pylon of a launch aircraft called Roc. At least, that was the plan a while ago, because after the company purchased the now-defunct Virgin Orbit's Cosmic Girl aircraft, that Boeing 747 will probably be used for the task – after it gets modified a bit, obviously.
When it first presented the technology, Stratolaunch said the first version of the Talon will not be powered during its first flights, but the company did not clarify what version it will use for the MACH-TB program.
The powered one (a fully functional version the company calls TA-2) will likely use a Hadley engine supplied by a company called Ursa Major Technologies. When completed, it will measure 28 feet (8.5 meters) long, and it will have a wingspan of 11 feet (3.4 meters).
Eventually Stratolaunch plans to have the Talon flying regularly for paying customers who need to put their technologies through hypersonic speed testing. For MACH-TB it has been tasked with flying the Talon five times with various payloads.
As per Stratolaunch, the data collected during the flights is "designed to provide insight to the DoD on technology improvement and capability validation."
No details were provided by any of the parties involved as to when we are to expect the first test flights to take place. It's also unclear if we'll learn about them as soon as they take place, given the (probably) sensitive nature of the systems being tested.
The MACH-TB program kicked off in the summer of last year, when Leidos used the Rocket Lab's Launch Complex 2 at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (part of the NASA Wallops Flight Facility) to send up an undisclosed piece of technology.
Like many other such platforms currently being developed around the world, the Talon-A is nothing more than a test bed on which various technologies could be tested at hypersonic speeds.
Still under development (it was only back in 2022 when the first structurally complete example was presented), the Talon will eventually be a rocket-powered device capable of going at speeds of over Mach 5 (3,836 mph/6,174 kph).
The missile-like drone does not launch from the ground, but it is released from the pylon of a launch aircraft called Roc. At least, that was the plan a while ago, because after the company purchased the now-defunct Virgin Orbit's Cosmic Girl aircraft, that Boeing 747 will probably be used for the task – after it gets modified a bit, obviously.
When it first presented the technology, Stratolaunch said the first version of the Talon will not be powered during its first flights, but the company did not clarify what version it will use for the MACH-TB program.
The powered one (a fully functional version the company calls TA-2) will likely use a Hadley engine supplied by a company called Ursa Major Technologies. When completed, it will measure 28 feet (8.5 meters) long, and it will have a wingspan of 11 feet (3.4 meters).
Eventually Stratolaunch plans to have the Talon flying regularly for paying customers who need to put their technologies through hypersonic speed testing. For MACH-TB it has been tasked with flying the Talon five times with various payloads.
As per Stratolaunch, the data collected during the flights is "designed to provide insight to the DoD on technology improvement and capability validation."
No details were provided by any of the parties involved as to when we are to expect the first test flights to take place. It's also unclear if we'll learn about them as soon as they take place, given the (probably) sensitive nature of the systems being tested.
The MACH-TB program kicked off in the summer of last year, when Leidos used the Rocket Lab's Launch Complex 2 at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (part of the NASA Wallops Flight Facility) to send up an undisclosed piece of technology.
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