Mach 20 Test Goes Awry, Military's 'Falcon' Craft Lost At Sea

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE (CBS) — An advanced hypersonic space plane that was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base Thursday morning has been lost over the Pacific Ocean.

The Falcon, an unmanned experimental plane, was designed to fly at 13,000 miles an hour, or 20 times the speed of sound.

A rocket carried it from the base to the edge of space, where it successfully separated to start its test.

Shortly after that, trackers lost contact with the plane.

This was the second Falcon flight to go wrong in just more than a year.

The military hopes that one day, the Falcon will be able to respond to threats anywhere in the world within an hour.