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| Down Under |
| Scramjet tested in Australian outback |
| 2006-03-26 |
| Australian scientists hope they've moved the world closer to a future where supersonic air travel is the norm and a Sydney to London flight takes only two hours. An international team, led by aviation scientists from the University of Queensland, launched a rocket carrying a scramjet - an air-breathing supersonic combustion ramjet engine. A rocket took the scramjet to an altitude of 314 kilometres about 1.45pm (CDT) above Woomera, in the South Australian outback, a spokeswoman for the Hyshot program said. Travelling at 8,000kph - or 10 times the speed of a conventional jet - the rocket turned and powered back to Earth. The scientists are hoping the scramjet kicked into action during a tiny six-second window shortly before impact. HyShot program leader Professor Allan Paull said it was too soon to tell if the $2 million experiment had been a success. "It looks good. We got data all the way," he said. The team would be in a better position to make a statement about the success of the experiment later, possibly Sunday, he said. Saturday's mission, Hyshot III, follows the historic Hyshot II launch at Woomera in 2002. During that flight, the team made history by becoming the first to achieve combustion in a scramjet engine in flight, following the failure of Hyshot I in 2001. Prof Paull said scramjet-powered passenger jets were still a long way off, but it might be possible to have a scramjet-powered vehicle within the next 10 years. HyShot team member Michael Smart said the flight followed the nominal trajectory and impacted 400km from its launch pad. An emotional Dr Smart said it appeared from radar tracking of the experiment that everything had gone to plan. The project also involves British company QinetiQ. QinetiQ researcher Rachel Owen said it was "very exciting" and she was very proud to have seen the scramjet fly. |
| Posted by:Elmose Gravirong4958 |
| #3 It won't be manned flight that forms the first use of scramjets. |
| Posted by: anon 2006-03-26 09:30 |
| #2 ...and the world described above is not possible if Iranians are permitted to attain nuclear-jihad status. |
| Posted by: Listen to Dogs 2006-03-26 09:11 |
| #1 Australian scientists hope they've moved the world closer to a future where supersonic air travel is the norm and a Sydney to London flight takes only two hours. ... The scientists are hoping the scramjet kicked into action during a tiny six-second window shortly before impact. Ummm, I don't think I'll buy my ticket yet. |
| Posted by: xbalanke 2006-03-26 08:41 |