Scramjet To Be Tested
- From: Garrison Hilliard <garrison@xxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 24 Dec 2005 03:45:51 +0000
Supersonic jet engine to be tested
The Associated Press
DAYTON - The Pentagon has approved flight testing for a revolutionary jet engine
said to be capable of propelling an airplane faster than any other powered by
petroleum-based jet fuel.
The engine is part of a $212 million program being managed at Wright-Patterson
Air Force Base.
The X-plane designation puts the project in the ranks of other flight research
programs that began with the X-1 rocket plane in which Chuck Yeager broke the
sound barrier in 1947.
Lab research indicates the engine, known as a scramjet, can propel an aircraft
at more than five times the speed of sound. Researchers said they hope to fly
five to eight unmanned X-51As at speeds up to seven times the speed of sound,
about 4,600 mph.
The flights are scheduled for December 2008 to January 2009 and will launch from
Edwards Air Force Base in California.
NASA made headlines last year when its unmanned, scramjet-powered X-43A reached
nearly 10 times the speed of sound, or about 7,200 miles per hour. But it burned
hydrogen, a less practical fuel, and the engine only fired for about 10 seconds
- just long enough to prove it could work.
The X-51A program is aimed at demonstrating practical technology for future
military craft, including ultra-fast cruise missiles, global-range bombers and
reusable satellite launchers.
http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051223/NEWS01/512230443/1056/news01
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