Engineering:Hyflex

From HandWiki
HYFLEX
OperatorNASDA
WebsiteAt JAXA.jp
Apogee110 km (68 mi)
Spacecraft properties
ManufacturerMitsubishi Heavy Industries
Launch mass1,054 kg (2,324 lb)
DimensionsLength:4.40 m (14.4 ft)
Span:1.36 m (4 ft 6 in)
Height:1.04 m (3 ft 5 in)
Start of mission
Launch dateFebruary 11, 1996 (1996-02-11)
RocketJ-I
Launch siteLA-N, Tanegashima Space Center
End of mission
Disposalsplashed down
recovery failed
Landing dateFebruary 11, 1996 (1996-02-11)
Landing sitePacific Ocean near Chichi-jima
 

HYFLEX (Hypersonic Flight Experiment) was a National Space Development Agency of Japan reentry demonstrator prototype which was launched in 1996 on the only flight of the J-I launcher. It was a successor of OREX and was a precursor for the Japanese space Shuttle HOPE-X.

HYFLEX tested the carbon-carbon heat shielding tiles that were intended to be used on HOPE, as well as having the same body shaping in order to gather data on hypersonic lifting. HYFLEX flew in space at 110 kilometres (68 mi) altitude and succeeded in re-entry, but sank in the Pacific after splashdown before it could be recovered.

See also

  • 1996 in spaceflight