Air Force X-51A Scramjet Test Fails

Stephen Pope

Thursday, August 16, 2012 at 10:35 PM ET

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Key Takeaways:

The Air Force's X-51A WaveRider failed and was destroyed during its third test flight.
The scramjet-powered craft lost control and crashed just 16 seconds into the flight, failing to reach its goal of Mach 6.
A problem with a control fin was identified as the cause, preventing the main engine from igniting as planned.

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The Air Force’s scramjet-powered X-51A WaveRider lost control and was destroyed seconds into a test flight on Tuesday, dashing hopes that the craft would reach its goal of speeding to Mach 6.

This third test of the Boeing X-51A was launched Tuesday off the California coast from a B-52. Plans called for the scramjet-powered craft to fly for 300 seconds, reaching a speed of 4,600 mph, but it flew for only 16 seconds before losing control, according to the Air Force.