View source for Engineering:X-41 Common Aero Vehicle

{{Short description|US military spaceplane}}
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{|{{infobox aircraft begin
| name = X-41 Common Aero Vehicle
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}}{{infobox aircraft type
| type = Experimental maneuvering re-entry vehicle
| national origin = United States
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| retired = 
| status = Experimental research program
| primary user = DARPA
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| variants with their own articles = 
}}
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'''X-41''' is the designation, initiated in 2003, for a still-classified United States military [[Astronomy:Spaceplane|spaceplane]]. The X-41 is now part of the [[Engineering:DARPA Falcon Project|FALCON]] ('''F'''orce '''A'''pplication and '''L'''aunch from '''Con'''tinental United States) program sponsored by DARPA and [[Organization:NASA|NASA]].

==Description==
Specifications or photos of the X-41 program have not been released to the public; thus little is known about its goals. It has been described as an experimental maneuvering reentry vehicle capable of transporting a 1,000-pound payload on a [[Engineering:Sub-orbital spaceflight|sub-orbital]] trajectory at [[Physics:Hypersonic|hypersonic]] speeds and releasing that payload into the [[Earth:Atmosphere of Earth|atmosphere]]. The word "Aero" in "Common Aero Vehicle" stood for "aeroshell", not "aerospace", because the CAV was a common aerothermodynamic shell for varying and multiple payloads.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.designation-systems.net/dusrm/app4/x-41.html |title = X-41 CAV}}</ref> The technology necessary for the X-41 is not known and reportedly has yet to be developed. However, it is believed to be a new form of hypersonic propulsion capable of exceeding Mach 7, perhaps reaching {{convert|9|Mach}}.

==See also==
*[[Engineering:Hypersonic Technology Vehicle 2|Hypersonic Technology Vehicle 2]]
*[[Engineering:Prompt Global Strike|Prompt Global Strike]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.globalsecurity.org/space/systems/x-41.htm GlobalSecurity.org: X-41] 
*[http://www.spacedaily.com/news/rocketscience-05l.html Spacedaily.com: CAV]
*[https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A38272-2005Mar15.html ''Pentagon Has Far-Reaching Defense Spacecraft in Works''], Washington Post, March 16, 2005

{{X-planes}}
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[[Category:Spaceplanes]]



{{Sourceattribution|X-41 Common Aero Vehicle}}