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February 26, 2026 \u2014 5:15pm<\/p>\n
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Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n Save this article for later<\/p>\n Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime.<\/p>\n Got it<\/p>\n AAA<\/p>\n Bad weather on the east coast of the United States has delayed the test launch of a Queensland hypersonic scramjet capable of travelling at 12 times the speed of sound.<\/p>\n Brisbane-based Hypersonix had hoped to launch its Dart AE on a Rocket Lab vehicle from NASA\u2019s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia on Thursday morning (AEST), in a mission dubbed That\u2019s Not a Knife in tribute to its Australian origin<\/a>.<\/p>\n But Rocket Lab delayed the endoatmospheric launch, a little more than an hour before its HASTE rocket was due to begin its three-minute mission, due to \u201cout-of-bounds launch commit criteria\u201d.<\/p>\n Once free of the HASTE rocket at an altitude of about 50 kilometres, the Dart AE would have fired its engine and flown east over the Atlantic Ocean.<\/p>\n In a statement issued early Thursday afternoon, Rocket Lab did not elaborate on the cause of the delay.<\/p>\n \u201cOut-of-bounds launch commit criteria means one or more required pre-launch conditions (like weather, rocket systems health, or range safety rules) aren\u2019t met and fall outside safe limits,\u201d a spokesperson said.<\/p>\n \u201cComplex systems and unpredictable factors like weather make delays like these are a normal part of the process, and a delay of hours, days, or even weeks rarely affects the overall mission objectives.<\/p>\n \u201cThe priority is always to \u2018launch when ready\u2019, not \u2018launch on time\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n Comment was sought from Hypersonix.<\/p>\n The eight-metre, fully reusable, hydrogen-fuelled Dart AE hypersonic aircraft would be used for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions, rapid delivery and space system testing.<\/p>\n The aircraft\u2019s 3D-printed Spartan scramjet engine, with no moving parts, was designed to propel aircraft to speeds of up to Mach 12.<\/p>\n If successful, the NASA-backed test flight would mark the world\u2019s first sustained hypersonic flight using green hydrogen.<\/p>\n Before the launch, Hypersonix co-founder Michael Smart said the test flight would turn the theoretical \u2013 originally conceived in at the University of Queensland \u2013 into practical.<\/p>\n \u201cThis mission takes our propulsion, materials and control systems into the real hypersonic environment,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cAt these speeds and temperatures, there is no substitute for flight data. What we learn from this mission will directly inform the next generation of reusable hypersonic aircraft.\u201d<\/p>\n A new launch window was expected within days, and would about 24 hours\u2019 notice ahead of take-off.<\/p>\n Along with military and travel applications \u2013 including a travel time of two hours between the east coast of Australia and London \u2013 the technology could also be used as part of staged payload deliveries to Earth\u2019s orbit.<\/p>\n Start the day with a summary of the day\u2019s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/0b99db1766f90dc55dfbf126ac259d3cbfa98d31986279e2adcff3739fbd8408.jpeg\")
The Hypersonix Dart AE, which was inside Rocket Lab\u2019s HASTE rocket at NASA\u2019s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.Rocket Lab<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/01e4d174450db9b73cfbf3ffc94ddb4f397b935f10d3e688d47f9e12741ca996.jpeg\")
The HASTE rocket on the launch pad.Rocket Lab<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/7aa007eb8d8866338a0c59c19d796dea295261ddcd9426055f74c1750190f7b9.jpeg\")
The mission was named \u2018That\u2019s Not a Knife\u2019 in honour of Crocodile Dundee.Rocket Lab<\/p>\n