Crash Destroys Darkstar Surveillance Plane
A prototype of the Darkstar, a remote-controlled battlefield surveillance aircraft, was destroyed Monday by a crash during takeoff for a test flight.
The aircraft crashed and burned alongside a runway. Investigators were trying to determine the cause, said J. Campbell Martin, a spokesman at NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center.
The aircraft first flew at the end of March. Only 15 feet long, about 5 feet tall on its landing gear and with a 69-foot wingspan, Darkstar “looks about like a ruler with a coffee saucer” in the middle, Martin said.
The flying wing was being developed for high-altitude reconnaissance. The operational version may fly above 45,000 feet, NASA said.
The cost of the test version was unavailable, Martin said. Production models of Darkstar were anticipated to cost $10 million each.
The aircraft is being developed for the Defense Department by Lockheed Martin Skunk Works and Boeing Defense and Space Group.
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