The Hypersonic Revolution began as a study effort while I was Director of the Special Staff Office at the Aeronautical Systems Division of Air Force Systems Command (ASD, now the Aeronautical Systems Center of Air Force Materiel Command) at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in 1986. At that time, coinciding with vigorous interest in developing what were then termed «Transatmospheric Vehicles» (TAV), I was convinced that the hypersonics field needed a solid grounding in its own history. Accordingly, I assembled and edited a two-volume group of studies by leading experts and authorities who had written on the major programs, and these were locally published by ASD in 1987. I planned a third volume as well, on the then-ongoing National Aero-Space Plane effort (NASP, which became the X-30 program), but recognized that it would have to be completed at a later date. Reaction to the first two volumes was immediate and strongly positive, as The Hypersonic Revolution constituted the first compilation of case studies on hypersonic technology ever assembled. It quickly became a much sought-after reference, and, I am gratified to say, has remained so to the present day, despite an obvious need to be brought more up-to-date.
