NASAs X 43A Scramjet Sets Air Speed Record
Explanation:
Using oxygen from the air itself, a NASA experimental
jet propelled itself past Mach 7 in the atmosphere above
the Pacific Ocean this weekend.
The small automated
X-43A Hyper-X craft was dropped from a huge converted
B-52 bomber and then accelerated by a standard
Pegasus rocket.
At Mach 5, five time the
speed of sound, the X-43A separated and the novel
scramjet kicked in.
Atmospheric
oxygen was then scooped up, combined with onboard
hydrogen, and combusted in flight to propel the
X-43A to record air speeds
during maneuvers over the next 10 minutes.
Engines of
ramjet design have been suggested as a
satellite launch method without heavy fuel tanks
and even romanticized for
interstellar space travel.
The previously acknowledged
air-speed record for jet-powered flight was
Mach 3.3 for the decommissioned
SR-71.
Re-entering space rockets can start as high as
Mach 36 before the atmosphere decelerates them.
The
X-43A, depicted in the
artist's illustration above, might well propel
itself past Mach 10 in future tests.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
