to Kwajalein at Mach 20. The HTV-2 was boosted by a Minotaur IV Lite rocket launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California; the glider was carried inside the nose of the Minotaur IV Lite rocket into outer space with a launch altitude of . The flight plan called for the craft to separate from the launch vehicle, level out and glide above the Pacific at Mach 20. Contact was lost with the vehicle at nine minutes into the 30-minute mission, and the glider's skin disintegrated. In mid-November, DARPA stated that the first test flight ended when the computer autopilot "commanded flight termination" after the vehicle began to roll violently. A second flight was initially scheduled to be launched on August 10, 2011, but bad weather forced a delay. The flight was launched the following day, on 11 August 2011. The unmanned Falcon HTV-2 successfully separated from the booster and entered the mission's glide phase, but again lost contact with control about nine minutes into its planned 30-minute Mach 20 glide flight. Initial reports indicated it purposely impacted the Pacific Ocean along its planned flight path as a safety precaution. The glider's surface reached (the speed and heat caused part of the skin to peel away from the aerostructure) and controlled itself for 3 minutes before crashing. Future development DARPA does not plan to conduct a third flight test of the HTV-2. The decision was made because substantial data was collected from the first two flights, and a third was not thought likely to provide any additional valuable data for the cost. The first flight provided data in aerodynamics and flight performance, while the second provided information about structures and high temperatures. Experience gained from the HTV-2 will be used to improve hypersonic flight. Work on the HTV-2 will continue to Summer 2014 to capture technology lessons and improve design tools and methods for high-temperature composite aeroshells. See also Tactical Boost Glide – follow-on project DF-ZF – a similar Chinese system that is currently operational. Avangard – a similar Russian system that joined service in 2020. Boeing X-51 - scramjet-powered hypersonic cruise missile demonstrator Hypersonic Technology Demonstrator Vehicle - scramjet-powered hypersonic cruise missile demonstrator References External links Falcon page on Darpa.mil HCV page on Globalsecurity.org "Air Drops Dummy Rocket for Darpa's Falcon", Aviation Week, "Hypersonics Back in the News" on Defensetech.org "Going Hypersonic: Flying FALCON for Defense" and "Air Force Plans