The Stratolaunch Roc - with its 385-foot wingspan - is now actively flying hypersonic research missions, recovering test vehicles intact for the first time in decades.
VectorThe North American X-15 flew 199 missions to the edge of space, set speed and altitude records that still stand, and shaped every hypersonic and space vehicle that followed.
VectorNASA's Ingenuity helicopter flew 72 missions on Mars between 2021 and 2024, proving powered flight is possible in an atmosphere just 1% the density of Earth's.
VectorThe X-37B spaceplane has executed fully autonomous runway landings from orbital velocity across seven missions, building the most demanding autonomous landing dataset in aerospace history.
VectorNASA's LOFTID test flew a folding, inflatable heat shield to orbital reentry speed - a drag device that could one day land heavy cargo on Mars.
VectorHow Stratolaunch's giant Roc aircraft and reusable Talon-A vehicle revived air-launch to close America's hypersonic testing gap.
VectorReaction Engines' SABRE engine solved the core thermodynamic barrier to air-breathing orbital flight - and the proof survived the company that built it.
VectorThe North American X-15 set a crewed aircraft speed record of Mach 6.72 in 1967 that still stands, and flew thirteen missions above the recognized boundary of space.
VectorThales completed live firings of its X-Fire launcher in France's FLP-T ground-based long-range strike competition, signaling a shift in European defense priorities.
TowerRussia flew a sixth-gen demonstrator first but sanctions and industrial gaps may leave it a decade behind the US, UK, Japan, and allies.
TowerBoom Supersonic's XB-1 demonstrator is deep into supersonic flight testing at Mojave, generating real data for the Overture airliner program.
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