RE: Engineering On Friday: Up, Up, and Away

DAB — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 22:20:10 GMT

I suspect that the vehicle was also built for low observability. Fast and non-traceable usually leads to lost equipment.

I remember the time I launched one of my model rockets painted silver with a clear plastic parchute. It went up, got caught by the wind and was quickly lost against a grey sky. Never found it.

So in DARPA's defense, it happens. Sometimes you overlook some of the little details, like a tracking beacon for new aircraft. Once lost, they are very hard to find.

DAB