This collection of interview notes describes the McDonnell Aircraft Company's research in hypesonics in the early 1960's. It also shows a close-up of a roll-bonded titanium structural member in a process pioneered by Kelly Johnson at Lockheed Skunkworks, and illustrates the layout of the Model 176 hypersonic orbital glider.

This document provides detailed notes outlining the McDonnell Aircraft Company's "Model 176" hypesonic glider, and describes how this technology could be used to produce a hypersonic glider for use in resupplying a Manned Orbiting Laboratory in the 1960's. It is a more rugged concept than the Space Shuttle, and could have begun flying over a decade earlier...

This document provides detailed technical notes on the challenges of both short-term and long-term manned spaceflight, and compares technology solutions based on low- and high-performance hypersonic gliders versus conventional ballistic spacecraft layouts. It also addresses the limitations of conventional propulsion as related to propellant mass requirements...

This document contains summary design notes on the Russian AJAX hypersonic aircraft, as described by Alexander Szames in the December 2001 issue of Air Et Cosmos. AJAX is a uniquely proposed design that incorporates MHD technology to further increase the hypersonic speed. It is a proposed Russian competitor to the "Aurora" project...

This document consists of a series of vugraphs outlining the case for hypersonic interceptor aircraft at Mach 4 and higher, and provides technical details in the form of graphs, charts, and comparisons for different forms of aircraft describing fuel efficiency, range, response-time, heat-dissipation, and other factors relevant to designing faster aircraft...

The global political structure has changed dramatically since the breakup of the former Soviet Union, and world changes have caused the United States to reprioritize its national hypersonic needs.  One hypersonic aerospace plane concept that involves the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) technology is the Russian AJAX hypersonic flight vehicle concept...

A paper presented in the IAF Congress held in Turin, Italy provided details of an axisymmetric MHD nose generator. Its intent is to drive the device that created the plasma ahead of the nose. Researchers from Novosibirisk have stated such tests have been conducted in their hypersonic, high temperature wind tunnels and presented very similar pictures...