Hypersonix Launch Systems (Hypersonix) has announced the launch window for a flight test that will hopefully move sustained hypersonic flight closer to operational reality.
“DART AE allows us to validate propulsion, materials and control systems at speeds and temperatures that simply can’t be replicated on the ground,” Co-founder of Hypersonix, Michael Smart, said.
“What we learn from this mission will directly inform the next generation of operational hypersonic vehicles.”
Founded in 2019, Hypersonix has been focused on developing a new class of autonomous hypersonic aircraft that deliver sustained flight at extreme speed, range and altitude. According to the company, its proprietary Spartan scramjet engine is 3D-printed, reusable and capable of reaching Mach 12 with no moving parts.
“This flight reflects years of engineering work and the confidence of our partners at DIU, NASA and Rocket Lab,” Hypersonix CEO, Matt Hill, highlighted.
“It brings us a meaningful step closer to operational hypersonic systems that are reusable, sustainable and strategically relevant for Australia and for our allies.”
The Cassowary Vex mission, launching on “That’s Not A Knife” with Rocket Lab, has been scheduled to launch no earlier than late February from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 2 within the Virginia Spaceport Authority’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Wallops Island, Virginia.
The exact date and timing of the launch will be announced within 24 hours of the mission’s launch window opening.
The flight will see Hypersonix deploy Dart AE, a 3.5-metre, scramjet-powered hypersonic aircraft designed to validate advanced propulsion, materials, sensors and guidance systems at real hypersonic flight conditions.
The mission will be the first flight of Dart AE. Unlike conventional scramjets powered by kerosene, according to Hypersonix, Spartan uses hydrogen.
The technology was developed by Smart who was formerly Chair of Hypersonic Propulsion at the University of Queensland and a former NASA research scientist.
Smart said the flight is about proving the fundamentals of reusable, hydrogen-powered hypersonic flight at real conditions in the upper atmosphere.
The launch broadcast will be aired live on YouTube. It will follow Hypersonix’s $46 million Series A funding round, backed by Australia’s National Reconstruction Fund Corporation and Queensland Investment Corporation.
The round was led by High Tor Capital, a UK investor in national security and frontier technology, with European defence company Saab and Polish family office RKKVC having also supported the raise.
The funding is accelerating Hypersonix’s flight-test program, supporting advanced manufacturing capability in Queensland, and fast-tracking development of its next reusable hypersonic platform, VISR (Velos Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance).