Message posted by Peter Merlin on April 24, 2014 at 11:10:14 PST:
During the early 1960s, Kelly Johnson began to study potential design outgrowths of his A-12 OXCART reconnaissance airplane. One idea involved an unmanned drone capable of carrying a camera package to altitudes above 90,000 feet while flying at speeds in excess of Mach 3. The drone, launched from an OXCART-type aircraft, would be smaller and faster than the A-12 and have an even smaller radar signature. Johnson envisioned a small, unmanned version of the A-12 with similar performance capabilities. His initial design, known as Q-12, was to have a design speed between Mach 3.3 and 3.5, and an operational maximum altitude of 91,000 feet. It would carry a 425lb. payload and have a range of at least 3,000 nautical miles. Each drone would be used only once. It was designed to overfly a target, take pictures, continue to a pre-programmed location and jettison its camera package. The drone would then self-destruct while the camera was recovered in mid-air by the crew of a JC-130 cargo plane flying far below. Johnson designed a mothership, based on the A-12 configuration, to get the drone to launch altitude and speed. It had provisions for a dorsal launch pylon and a launch control officer’s station behind the cockpit. Johnson called the mothership M-21 (reversing the digits in the number 12) and the drone D-21. The mated combination was called MD-21. Two M-21 motherships, articles 134 (Air Force serial 60-6940) and 135 (60-6941) were built and delivered to Area 51. On 29 April 1966, in the wake of an order for a second batch of drones, Johnson made a formal proposal to Strategic Air Command Headquarters for a modified drone (eventually designated D-21B) that would be launched from beneath the wing of a B-52H bomber. This, he said, would provide greater safety, reduced costs and expanded deployment range. In order to propel the D-21B to ramjet ignition speeds (around Mach 3.0), the drone would require a rocket booster for the initial flight phase following launch. Following three successful launches from the M-21, Johnson’s worst fears were realized. During the fourth launch, the drone climbed slowly through the mothership’s shockwave and suffered an asymmetrical engine unstart. The crew of the second M-21, flying chase, watched in horror as the drone rolled sideways and crashed down onto the mothership. Article 135 pitched up and broke apart, raining debris over the Pacific. Bill Park ejected successfully, but his LCO, Ray Torick was injured during bailout and drowned in the ocean. As a result of the tragedy, Johnson cancelled further use of the MD-21. The remaining D-21 drones were modified to the D-21B configuration and two B-5H aircraft were configured as launch platforms under Project SENIOR BOWL. There were a number of successful test flights of the D-21B, and several unsuccessful operational missions before the drone program was cancelled.
Johnson pitched his idea to officials at the CIA who already funded the OXCART program. On 10 October 1962, they gave him the go-ahead to begin a formal development study for the drone that was codenamed TAGBOARD.
In 1964, the MD-21s began a series of captive tests work toward the first launch. D-21 launches took place over the Pacific Missile Range, about 250 miles off the coast of California. The launch maneuver was risky for the flight crew. The flight profile required the M-21 pilot to attain a speed of Mach 3.12 at an altitude of 72,000 feet and commence a gentle pull-up before pushing the nose over to maintain a steady force of 0.9 g. With the drone’s ramjet operating, the LCO initiated pneumatic separation of the drone.
In Reply to: Re: AREA 51 posted by Mark on April 23, 2014 at 15:21:52 PST:
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