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The US military lost contact with an unmanned hypersonic test aircraft shortly after its launch, defence officials have said.
The Falcon Hypersonic Test Vehicle 2 (HTV-2) - capable of reaching any target in the world in less than an hour - began a test flight from atop a rocket on Thursday.
Contact was also lost with a similar craft during the first mission.
The HTV-2 is designed to travel at 13,000mph (21,000km/h).
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa), which is funding the HTV-2 programme and overseeing the tests, said the small craft was capable of reaching speeds of Mach 20.
The aircraft took off using a Minotaur IV rocket from Vanderberg Air Force Base in California early on Thursday.
Engineers programmed the HTV-2 to launch from the edge of space, separate from its rocket and crash into the ocean.
No information was available on whether the goals of the mission were achieved.
Re-entering Earth's atmosphere
Darpa said the HTV-2 would be subject to temperatures in excess of 3,500F (2,000C) if it reached its intended speed during its test flight.
The agency had previously said the craft would re-enter the earth's atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean.
The first test flight of a HTV-2 ended with the craft crashing into the Pacific after the military lost contact with the glider nine minutes into the flight.
But the first glider's flight still managed to return 139 seconds of aerodynamic data at speeds between 17 and 22 times the speed of sound, DARPA said.
The HTV-2 programme "informs policy, acquisition, and operations decisions for future Department of Defense Conventional Prompt Global Strike programmes", Darpa said on its website.
At HTV-2 speeds, flight time between New York City and Los Angeles, which are roughly 2,500 miles (4,000 km) apart, would be less than 12 minutes.
The Atlantis shuttle, launched in July, travelled around Earth's orbit at a similar speed of about 17,500mph (28,000kp/h).
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-14497641
The Falcon Hypersonic Test Vehicle 2 (HTV-2) - capable of reaching any target in the world in less than an hour - began a test flight from atop a rocket on Thursday.
Contact was also lost with a similar craft during the first mission.
The HTV-2 is designed to travel at 13,000mph (21,000km/h).
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa), which is funding the HTV-2 programme and overseeing the tests, said the small craft was capable of reaching speeds of Mach 20.
The aircraft took off using a Minotaur IV rocket from Vanderberg Air Force Base in California early on Thursday.
Engineers programmed the HTV-2 to launch from the edge of space, separate from its rocket and crash into the ocean.
No information was available on whether the goals of the mission were achieved.
Re-entering Earth's atmosphere
Darpa said the HTV-2 would be subject to temperatures in excess of 3,500F (2,000C) if it reached its intended speed during its test flight.
The agency had previously said the craft would re-enter the earth's atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean.
The first test flight of a HTV-2 ended with the craft crashing into the Pacific after the military lost contact with the glider nine minutes into the flight.
But the first glider's flight still managed to return 139 seconds of aerodynamic data at speeds between 17 and 22 times the speed of sound, DARPA said.
The HTV-2 programme "informs policy, acquisition, and operations decisions for future Department of Defense Conventional Prompt Global Strike programmes", Darpa said on its website.
At HTV-2 speeds, flight time between New York City and Los Angeles, which are roughly 2,500 miles (4,000 km) apart, would be less than 12 minutes.
The Atlantis shuttle, launched in July, travelled around Earth's orbit at a similar speed of about 17,500mph (28,000kp/h).
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-14497641
