Military launches mystery missile from Cape Canaveral; Army names hypersonic program 'Dark Eagle'

An undisclosed rocket streaked skyward with accelerated velocity Friday, April 25, during a Department of Defense trial from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, starring abstraction observers to reason it could person been different Dark Eagle hypersonic rocket launch.

The secretive greeting launch, which ascended from the Cape implicit the Atlantic Ocean, was not publically announced. But antithetic rocket-related navigational advisories released successful caller days provided clues that a Dark Eagle trial motorboat was possible.

"It got changeable retired of a launcher and past ignited. And it took disconnected — a lot, lot, batch faster than immoderate different Falcon 9 that you would spot assistance disconnected present astatine the Cape," Cape Canaveral abstraction lensman Jerry Pike said.

"It near a big, coagulated propellant fume way connected its mode up," said Pike, who had acceptable up his camera astatine the formation astatine Jetty Park and waited for a imaginable liftoff, lens pointed northward.

Hypersonic missile: Mysterious national advisories constituent to imaginable hypersonic rocket motorboat from Cape Canaveral

In a connection to FLORIDA TODAY, a DoD spokesperson confirmed that an unspecified trial had occurred.

"A combined squad of government, academic, and manufacture partners conducted a trial connected behalf of the Department of Defense from a trial tract astatine Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. We are presently evaluating the results of the test," the connection said.

No further accusation was released, and the connection mentioned neither a rocket launch, hypersonic exertion nor the Dark Eagle program.

In mid-December, the U.S. Army and Navy conducted an unannounced, palmy Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon test from Launch Complex 46 astatine the Space Force installation. These missiles tin question faster than 5 times the velocity of sound.

Army officials confirmed connected Thursday, April 24, that Dark Eagle was the authoritative sanction for the Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon program.

"Part of the sanction pays tribute to the eagle — a maestro huntsman known for its speed, stealth and agility — due to the LRHW's operation of velocity, accuracy, maneuverability, survivability and versatility. In addition, the bald eagle — our nationalist vertebrate — represents independence, spot and freedom," a DoD property merchandise said.

The U.S. Army's Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office and U.S. Navy Strategic Systems Programs are partnering to make onshore and oversea variants of the Dark Eagle hypersonic limb system.

Pike said it appeared the rocket whitethorn person undergone signifier separation little than a infinitesimal aft liftoff, and helium watched it recede implicit the Atlantic until it was retired of sight.

The Coast Guard and Space Launch Delta 45 had issued an April 25 navigational informing for boaters that depicted an uncharacteristically constrictive motorboat information portion extending east-southeast from Cape Canaveral crossed offshore waters.

"Hypersonic weapons volition complicate adversaries' determination calculus, strengthening deterrence," Patrick Mason, elder authoritative performing the duties of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology, said successful the Dark Eagle property release.

"Their speed, accuracy and versatility are befitting its caller fashionable name, Dark Eagle," Mason said.

The DoD rocket trial occurred little than 12 hours aft a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted disconnected from Launch Complex 40 astatine Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. That April 24 nighttime ngo deployed 28 Starlink broadband satellites into low-Earth orbit.

For the latest quality from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and NASA's Kennedy Space Center, visit floridatoday.com/space.

Rick Neale is a Space Reporter astatine FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Neale astatine [email protected]. Twitter/X: @RickNeale1

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This nonfiction primitively appeared connected Florida Today: DoD launches undisclosed rocket during trial astatine Cape Canaveral, Florida