How much does it cost to crash a  million hypercar on a NASA runway?

How much does it cost to crash a $3 million hypercar on a NASA runway?

Hennessey Special Vehicles crashed its Venom F5 – a $3 million hypercar – in July while traveling at nearly 250 mph on the runway at Kennedy Space Center. Newly reported details reveal the cost of the accident, which occurred while the company was testing new components of the car.

The crash damaged the runway surface, according to crash documents, which ClickOrlando. The damage was apparently minimal, and the repairs plus subsequent hazardous materials cleanup cost $712.70, which was billed to Space Coast Testing, the company that manages the runway rentals. Renting the LLF, which was once used as a runway for NASA’s Space Shuttle and is used for spaceflight purposes such as delivering United Launch Alliance rocket stages, can cost $2,200 for a four-hour trip. ClickOrlando reported. It is unclear whether this is the same rate that Hennessey paid.

Hennessey was testing “a new experimental aerodynamic setup” when it “lost downforce on the runway, causing the driver to lose control,” founder John Hennessey posted on Hennessey’s Instagram account after the accident. The driver was uninjured and the company said it was investigating the cause. The tests were part of Hennessey’s preparation for attempting to exceed 300 mph with the car to claim the record for fastest production car.

The documents that ClickOrlando The images reviewed were heavily redacted so that no images of the accident appear to be available. According to the outlet, this was done to protect Hennessey’s trade secrets.

The LLF is managed by Space Florida, the state’s aerospace industry agency. According to Space Florida’s website, other organizations have used the site, including Amazon (for Project Kuiper), United Launch Alliance and Lockheed Martin. But the LLF’s flat, 3-mile straight is also used by automotive companies like Tesla and Volvo for real-world performance and aerodynamic testing of their cars.

Alayna Curry, PR Director for Space Florida, said ClickOrlando that such tests “are nothing new and have been taking place for many years, dating back to the Space Shuttle era under NASA’s direction,” and that Space Florida regularly turns down requests to lease the runway.

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