NASA test flight nears record 7,000 mph (Agencies) Updated: 2004-11-17 10:25
An unmanned experimental jet broke a world record for speed on Tuesday,
cruising over the Pacific Ocean at just under 7,000 miles per hour in a NASA
test of cutting-edge "scramjet" engine technology.
The X-43A aircraft flew at a speed of around Mach 9.6 -- nearly ten times the
speed of sound -- after a booster rocket took it to around 110,000 feet and then
separated.
A modified B-52 airplane had carried the experimental plane and booster
aloft.
It was the last of three test launches for the X-43A series and its
supersonic-combustion ramjet or "scramjet" engine. The scramjet scoops up oxygen
from the air rather than carrying liquid oxygen in a tank like an ordinary
rocket.
Scramjet technology, NASA has said, could open the way to cheaper, safer and
faster flights into the upper atmosphere, with smaller and lighter craft.
"I think it's easier than people think it is. We can really do this stuff. I
don't mean to make it sound too easy, but it's definitely doable," said Randy
Voland, a senior research engineer on the project, at a news conference after
the test.
![NASA's famous B-52B mothership takes off at 1:10 p.m. PST on November 16, 2004, from Edwards Air Force Base in California, carrying the third X-43A scramjet on the nose of a modified Pegasus booster rocket. The unmanned experimental jet broke a world record for speed by accelerating to about 7,000 miles per hour high over the Pacific Ocean in a NASA test of cutting-edge engine technology. The X-43A aircraft apparently reached a speed of just under Mach 10 -- nearly ten times the speed of sound -- after the jet separated from a booster rocket, officials said. [Reuters]](xin_271101171026635150385.jpg) NASA's famous B-52B mothership takes off at
1:10 p.m. PST on November 16, 2004, from Edwards Air Force Base in
California, carrying the third X-43A scramjet on the nose of a modified
Pegasus booster rocket. The unmanned experimental jet broke a world record
for speed by accelerating to about 7,000 miles per hour high over the
Pacific Ocean in a NASA test of cutting-edge engine technology. The X-43A
aircraft apparently reached a speed of just under Mach 10 -- nearly ten
times the speed of sound -- after the jet separated from a booster rocket,
officials said. [Reuters] | The eight-year, $230 million program got off to a rough start in June 2001
when the first X-43A and its booster rocket had to be destroyed in mid-air. The
second attempt, in March of this year, successfully reached a speed of Mach 7.
That Mach 7 flight set the previous world record for a jet-powered vehicle,
NASA said.
The silvery-black scramjet, just 12 feet long by five feet wide, took off
from Edwards Air Force Base in the desert north of Los Angeles perched below
NASA's B-52 in the early afternoon Tuesday.
After reaching launch altitude over the Pacific, the modified bomber dropped
the scramjet and its booster rocket for a run at the speed record.
![In this image captured from an undated video animation, shows the separation of the X-43A research vehicle from the Pegasus booster. [Reuters]](xin_271101171026791162606.jpg) In this image
captured from an undated video animation, shows the separation of the
X-43A research vehicle from the Pegasus booster.
[Reuters] | NASA video images showed the scramjet rising sharply, powered by the booster
rocket, before the booster separated at about 110,000 feet and the scramjet
kicked in. After a few seconds, the X-43A entered a glide, quickly losing speed
toward a crash-landing into the ocean following a total journey of around 800
miles.
Along the way, the scramjet was expected to encounter temperatures of about
3,000 degrees Fahrenheit, roughly one-third hotter than a test in March that
reached Mach 7.
Engineers said the scramjet cruised after the separation, neither gaining nor
losing speed during its operation. The 20 seconds of operation, they said, gave
them far more research than they have had before on jet functions at those
speeds.
"We have quite a lot to look at for quite a long time to come," said Laurie
Marshall, chief engineer on the flight.
NASA said it had no plans to recover the craft, which has been standard
procedure with the scramjet tests. The flight on Tuesday had been delayed from
the previous day owing to electronics problems.
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