X-41 Common Aero Vehicle

X-41 Common Aero Vehicle
Role	Experimental manoeuvring re-entry vehicle
National origin	United States
Status	Experimental research programme
Primary user	DARPA

Initiated in 2003, X-41 is the designation for a still-classified U.S. military spaceplane. Specifications or photos of the program have not been released to the public yet; as a result not much is known about its goals. It has been described as an experimental manoeuvring re-entry vehicle capable of transporting a 1,000 lb payload on a sub-orbital trajectory at hypersonic speeds and releasing that payload into the atmosphere. The technology required for the X-41 is not yet known and is still undecided by the government. It is believed a new type of hypersonic travel is also being studied for the X-41 that will apparently be able to travel past Mach 7 and perhaps onto Mach 9.

This vehicle is now a part of the FALCON (Force Application and Launch from Continental United States) program sponsored by DARPA and NASA.

External links

GlobalSecurity.org: X-41
Spacedaily.com: CAV
Designation-Systems.net: X-41 CAV
Pentagon Has Far-Reaching Defense Spacecraft in Works, Washington Post, March 16, 2005

USAF / Joint Service experimental aircraft (X-plane) designations since 1941

1–25	X-1 X-2 X-3 X-4 X-5 X-6 X-7 X-8 X-9 X-10 X-11 X-12 X-13 X-14 X-15 X-16 X-17 X-18 X-19 X-20 X-21 X-22 X-23 X-24A / B / C X-25

26–50	X-26 X-27 X-28 X-29 X-30 X-31 X-32 X-33 X-34 X-35 X-36 X-37 X-38 X-39 X-40 X-41 X-42 X-43 X-44 X-45 X-46 X-47A / B / C X-48 X-49 X-50

50–	X-51 X-52¹ X-53 X-54 X-55 X-56 X-57

See also	D-558-1 D-558-2 M2-F1 M2-F2 M2-F3 HL-10 AD-1

¹ Not assigned.

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