read the full explanation.. some third-party gear failed, not the experimental craft. in fact, it didn't even get a chance to fly -- a rocket was supposed to propel it a bit further out of the atmosphere and then it was going to detach.
the reason it is so small is because it is made for testing a scram jet... some sort of air combustion engine that doesn't need onboard fuel [hence it can be a helluva lot smaller and might go faster]... but hey i could be wrong, this is just what i've assimilated from reading on the topic.
some people were quick to point out that NASA is pushed to take risks but condemned when experimental technology fails. they have a few more of these scramjets built i believe and they'll be taking test data from the crash, figure out what was wrong [if they haven't already] and will be modifying the other crafts so that the test will yield better results. that's how invention goes i suppose.
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