Falcon HTV-2 is lost during bid to become fastest ever plane
HTV-2争夺最快飞机中迷失
US military loses contact after 36 minutes with rocket-launched carbon fibre spaceplane designed to fly at 13,000mph
火箭发射碳纤空天飞机36分钟后，美国军方失去联系。
US military officials have lost contact with the fastest plane ever built during a hypersonic test flight over the Pacific on Thursday.
太平洋上空超音速飞行试验中，美国军方官员失去了与最快飞机的联系。
The Falcon HTV-2 was launched aboard a rocket from Vandenberg air force base in California, on what at first appeared to be a flawless mission.
HTV-2搭乘火箭从加州范登堡空军基地发射，开始看起来是完美的任务。
But after separating from the rocket at the edge of space and beginning its return to Earth, the aircraft went silent during the gliding stage of the test flight, when it was due to perform a series of manoeuvres as it hurtled through the atmosphere.
但是在太空边界，与火箭分离后，正开始返回地球，飞行器在飞行试验的滑越段，飞行器沉默了，此时，飞行器开展了一系列机动行为，所以就坠入大气层。
Officials at the US Defence Advance Research Projects Agency (Darpa) announced they had lost communication with the speeding craft at 4.21pm BST, 36 minutes into the flight.
DARPA官员宣布，飞行36分钟后，他们失去通联。
The unmanned "hypersonic technology flight" had been expected to reach a top speed of Mach 20, or 13,000 mph, and withstand temperatures of 2,000C caused by the ultrafast flow of air around the aircraft.
无人超音速飞行有望达到20音速，由于空气摩擦，温度达2000度。
At that speed, the plane could travel from London to Sydney in less than an hour and cross the US mainland, from New York to Los Angeles, in 12 minutes.
这个速度，从伦敦到悉尼仅需12分。
The plane was born from a Darpa plan called Prompt Global Strike, which sought to give military commanders the ability to strike targets anywhere in the world within an hour. Had the project worked, the Falcon HTV might have replaced intercontinental ballistic missiles.
此飞机源于DARPA，号称全球进攻，一小时内可打击任何地方。项目顺利的话，HTV将取代洲际导弹。
The loss of the hypersonic aircraft is a serious setback for engineers trying to perfect the art of flying at such spectacular speeds.
HTV的损失对想发展如此高速的技术的工程师来说，是一个严重挫折。
In April last year, the first Falcon test flight, HTV-1, ran into trouble after nine minutes when computers picked up a glitch and steered the aircraft into the sea as a safety precaution.
去年4月，首次飞行试验HTV-1在9分钟后就翘了，当时电脑出故障，为了安全，将飞行器引入海里。
Darpa only built two Falcon prototypes and has no plans to manufacture any more. This test flight was their last shot at success before the project is considered for closure.
DARPA只造了2个原型机，而且不打算再做，在项目考虑关闭前，此次试验是最后一搏。
Had the latest test flight gone to plan, the Falcon HTV-2 would have separated from its rocket high above the atmosphere and entered a steep dive before levelling out and performing a series of subtle manoeuvres to test its aerodynamic performance. At the end of the flight the plane would have rolled upside down and steered a graceful arc into the ocean.
最近试验进入计划，HTV-2将在大气层高空与火箭分离，进入一个先陡然下降再水平飞出和一系列为微妙机动的过程，来测试空气动力学表现，在飞行末端，飞机翻转倒立，沿着一个优美的弧形进入海洋。
Engineers had hoped the flight would provide crucial information on the plane's performance, including the resilience of its carbon composite body and navigation systems supposed to keep it on course as it moved at almost four miles per second.
工程师希望飞行能够提供关键的信息，包括碳复合机身的阻力，4英里/秒的速度下的导航系统。
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这个，实在是很难评价falcon2到底算是个啥，你说是弹道导弹的末端可机动弹头么，很明显他在大气层边沿的飞行能力比那货强太多了，飞行距离也长了不是一点点。但是你说他是飞机吧，貌似这个HTV本身是没有发动机的。虽然这货自己可以调整气动控制飞行线路。总之这货还是让人有点摸不着头脑，另外HTV2到底是不是真的失败了，这个也横难说，虽然美国军方说HTV-2失去通信，这没错，在高超音速下会黑障（那货都20倍音速了），一切电波都会被屏蔽，但是也不能认为试验就是失败的，由于通信的原因，这货设计时就应该是自主弹道，而不是被控弹道，通过飞行试验，测试20倍音速下的各项空气动力学数据，如阻力、升力、调姿、控翼......，如果实际上MD想要弄得本来就是个飞的更远的弹道导弹，那只需要落入设计的圆周范围就可以了，而不是要求飞机那样降落在跑道上。这样说起来，HTV是导弹而不是飞机也是相当有可能的哦。
Ps。DARPA（美国国防部战略预研局），其实是个很“好”的机构哦，我们现在生活当中的很多东东是他最先开始整的，比如说互联网。
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