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Scramjet Hits Mach 10

A tiny unmanned NASA "scramjet" soared above the Pacific Ocean Tuesday at nearly 10 times the speed of sound, or almost 7,000 mph, in a record-breaking demonstration of a radical new engine technology. [ABC News].

That's Los Angeles to New York in about 20 minutes. But this jet won't find an easy application in the passenger jet industry. The flight was the last in a $230 million-plus effort to test technology that most likely will be used initially in military aircraft, such as a bomber that could reach any target on Earth within two hours of takeoff from the United States, or to power missiles. Scramjets -- a contraction of Supersonic Combustion Ramjet -- may also provide an alternative to rockets for space launches. [more]

Here is more from NASA:

NASA's X-43A Scramjet Breaks Speed Record - NASA's X-43A research vehicle screamed into the record books again Tuesday, demonstrating an air-breathing engine can fly at nearly 10 times the speed of sound. Preliminary data from the scramjet-powered research vehicle show its revolutionary engine worked successfully at nearly Mach 9.8, or 7,000 mph, as it flew at about 110,000 feet.

The high-risk, high-payoff flight, originally scheduled for Nov. 15, took place in restricted airspace over the Pacific Ocean northwest of Los Angeles. The flight was the last and fastest of three unpiloted flight tests in NASA's Hyper-X Program. The program's purpose is to explore an alternative to rocket power for space access vehicles.

"This flight is a key milestone and a major step toward the future possibilities for producing boosters for sending large and critical payloads into space in a reliable, safe, inexpensive manner," said NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe. "These developments will also help us advance the Vision for Space Exploration, while helping to advance commercial aviation technology," Administrator O'Keefe said.

Posted by tim at November 17, 2004 12:44 AM

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