View source for X-41 Common Aero Vehicle

{{Short description|US military spaceplane}}
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{{Use American English|date = August 2019}}<!-- This article is a part of [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Aircraft]]. Please see [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Aircraft/page content]] for recommended layout. -->
{{infobox aircraft
| name = X-41 Common Aero Vehicle
| image = 
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| type = Experimental maneuvering [[Atmospheric reentry|re-entry vehicle]]
| national_origin = United States
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| retired = 
| status = Experimental research program
| primary_user = [[DARPA]]
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'''X-41''' is the designation, initiated in 2003, for a [[Classified information in the United States|still-classified]] United States [[military]] [[spaceplane]]. The X-41 is now part of the [[DARPA Falcon Project|FALCON]] (Force Application and Launch from Continental United States) program sponsored by [[DARPA]] and [[NASA]].

==Description==
Specifications or photos of the X-41 program have not been released to the public; thus little is known about its goals. It has been described as an experimental maneuvering [[Atmospheric reentry|reentry vehicle]] capable of transporting a 1,000-pound payload on a [[Sub-orbital spaceflight|sub-orbital]] trajectory at [[hypersonic]] speeds and releasing that payload into the [[Atmosphere of Earth|atmosphere]]. The word "Aero" in "Common Aero Vehicle" stood for "[[aeroshell]]", not "aerospace", because the CAV was a common aerothermodynamic shell for varying and multiple payloads.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.designation-systems.net/dusrm/app4/x-41.html |title = X-41 CAV}}</ref> The technology necessary for the X-41 is not known and reportedly has yet to be developed. However, it is believed to be a new form of hypersonic propulsion capable of exceeding Mach 7, perhaps reaching {{convert|9|Mach}}.

==See also==
*[[Hypersonic Technology Vehicle 2]]
*[[Prompt Global Strike]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.globalsecurity.org/space/systems/x-41.htm GlobalSecurity.org: X-41] 
*[http://www.spacedaily.com/news/rocketscience-05l.html Spacedaily.com: CAV]
*[https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A38272-2005Mar15.html ''Pentagon Has Far-Reaching Defense Spacecraft in Works''], Washington Post, March 16, 2005

{{X-planes}}
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[[Category:Spaceplanes]]
[[Category:2000s United States experimental aircraft]]
[[Category:DARPA]]
[[Category:Space launch vehicles of the United States]]


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