XS6 was another X-30 mission, but this time suborbital mission – the vehicle never really reached the orbit. I started with full load of jet fuel, and flew to Antonov Intl. It took only 1 hour to cross ~6000 miles (at speed of 12 mach).
Antonov Intl. seems to be a perfect airport for X-30 – the runway is long enough to launch and land, although there are trees right near runway base, and I usually fly over them at height of 5-10 meters.
I encountered a technical problem mid-flight when fuel system of scramjet #1 failed, resulting in constant fuel flow fluctuation, which didn’t affect the flight much though. But at some point the engines stopped! I considered returning to Edwards AFB, but I successfully restarted the engines, and reached Antonov Intl.
Here’s video of the landing:
Flying over Cherkasy:
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