I think the more amazing part of this story is that it was launched from a b-52 which has been in service for over 50 years! Talk about engineering longevity.
When I read about the sound barrier I got lost in the amount of things that can be learned.
One being that it isn't just a simple thing speed up an airplane to faster than we have before. They have different designs because the air acts differently as the speed changes and doesn't function the same. Seeing how the shape (overall but especially the nose) changes for each type is pretty cool.
Congratulations on a successful test flight. Aircraft that fly up to Mach 10 can still use radio communication. That wasn't the case with the Falcon Project's HTV-2. I guess the Air Force wants a GPS-guided hypersonic cruise missile.
Past Mach 10, a layer of plasma is formed on the leading surface of the aircraft, which RF cannot traverse. This is also why atmospheric reentry occurs in a blackout. There's a good explanation of the phenomenon here:
