Q and A With The Darkstar’s Project Leader

YouTube / Sam Eckholm

Sam Eckholm gets a chance to talk to the people who made the Darkstar from Top Gun: Maverick. Here are the five most interesting questions asked in the video:

1. Can the Darkstar actually fly?

Skunk Works Engineer and DarkStar Project Leader, Brian Hershberger, confirmed that the aircraft couldnโ€™t fly unless you use Hollywood magic. The Darkstar is merely a mockup of their hypersonic airplane concept for the movie.ย 

2. How was the Darkstar design chosen?

Paramount Pictures paired the Skunk Works team with Daniel Simon, a graphic designer who does a lot of futuristic concepts in movies (i.e., Tron Legacy). The two sides bounced ideas back and forth until they came up with โ€œIteration 43,โ€ now known as the Darkstar.

3. Would hypersonic planes be unmanned in the future?

According to Hershberger, a pilot inside a hypersonic aircraft is more plausible than you think. A space shuttle can go over Mach 20 with people inside it. But really, it just depends on what the mission needs. Designing a hypersonic plane with a cockpit is definitely more challenging, but it isnโ€™t impossible.

4. Were there any hidden Easter Eggs throughout the plane?

Hershbergerโ€™s team found many creative ways to put their stamp on the Darkstarโ€™s cockpit. Youโ€™ll see some of their initials and company logos on the switches and panels.

5. What would the Darkstarโ€™s engine be like?

To get hypersonic speed, you need a lot of thrust – and a scramjet is a perfect fit. Scramjets burn the air inside the engine โ€œsupersonically,โ€ allowing the scramjet to operate efficiently at extremely high speeds.