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| DARPA, DARPA, DARPA! | Aug 13, 2011 6:34 AM PDT | url |
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Added 1 new A* page:I'm not quite done with DARPA or their Falcon Project just yet! Up until its cancellation in 2009 due to budget cuts, the Blackswift HTV-3X was going to be another hypersonic vehicle in the stable, with a two-in-one turbine/ramjet engine; the turbine would power it from takeoff up to about Mach 3, at which point the air speed would be fast enough to be pumping and compressing sufficient air into the ramjet for it to fire, pushing the craft to about Mach 6. Well, the Blackswift didn't end up getting off the ground, but you can see a simulated version of what it might have looked like, thanks to the magic of YouTube:
video on Youtube
Speaking of YouTube, DARPA has its own YouTube channel, in which they've showcased some pretty funky projects. For instance, there's the somewhat misleadingly titled "Nano Air Vehicle"--or "NAV"--project that set out to develop a remote-controlled craft capable of being launched from the hand and hovering; they eventually ended up with a pretty successful prototype that was basically a robotic hummingbird which, with its embedded camera, was capable of flying right into remote buildings and looking around inside:
video on Youtube
Not too far away from the espionage man's dream of the ol' "fly on the wall," is it?
Oh yeah, and there's the rather famous and creepy robotic pack dog they're funding:
video on Youtube
And finally, there's...PowerSwim?
video on Youtube
Oh that wacky DARPA!
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