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An experimental pilotless plane has broken the world speed record for an atmospheric engine, briefly flying at 7,700 kilometres per hour - seven times the speed of sound, NASA says.
The hypersonic X-43 aircraft, a cross between a jet and a rocket, was dropped from the wing of a modified B-52 bomber, boosted by an auxiliary rocket to an altitude of nearly 30,000 metres and flew on its own for about six minutes before plunging into the Pacific Ocean.
NASA says the prototype engine is destined to eventually power a new generation of space shuttles.
The previous world speed record was established by a US Blackbird spy plane, which flew at three times the speed of sound.
The tiny scram jet is part of a research project into alternative propulsion technologies.
But David Learmount from Flight International Magazine says rumours of hypersonic passenger flights to come are way off the mark.
"This is aimed at space, it's aimed at powering whatever follows today's space shuttle and possibly military applications," he said.
"But certainly this technology ... is not being aimed at powering something which is going to replace Concorde in the future."
Leslie Williams, from the NASA Flight Research Centre in California, explained how the jet works.
"It doesn't have any moving parts. You have to get it up to at least Mach 5 because the air must go through supersonically to make it work," she said.
"It scoops the oxygen, rams oxygen into the inlet and then comes out the end, out the nozzle in the back as thrust.
"It really has no moving parts except for the front engine door.
"Scram jets have been around for 30 something years, but it's only been done in ground testing facilities. It's never been done in free flight."
--AFP/BBC
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s1075392.htm
The hypersonic X-43 aircraft, a cross between a jet and a rocket, was dropped from the wing of a modified B-52 bomber, boosted by an auxiliary rocket to an altitude of nearly 30,000 metres and flew on its own for about six minutes before plunging into the Pacific Ocean.
NASA says the prototype engine is destined to eventually power a new generation of space shuttles.
The previous world speed record was established by a US Blackbird spy plane, which flew at three times the speed of sound.
The tiny scram jet is part of a research project into alternative propulsion technologies.
But David Learmount from Flight International Magazine says rumours of hypersonic passenger flights to come are way off the mark.
"This is aimed at space, it's aimed at powering whatever follows today's space shuttle and possibly military applications," he said.
"But certainly this technology ... is not being aimed at powering something which is going to replace Concorde in the future."
Leslie Williams, from the NASA Flight Research Centre in California, explained how the jet works.
"It doesn't have any moving parts. You have to get it up to at least Mach 5 because the air must go through supersonically to make it work," she said.
"It scoops the oxygen, rams oxygen into the inlet and then comes out the end, out the nozzle in the back as thrust.
"It really has no moving parts except for the front engine door.
"Scram jets have been around for 30 something years, but it's only been done in ground testing facilities. It's never been done in free flight."
--AFP/BBC
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s1075392.htm
