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| World Home » Science & Technology » | Fri. Nov 21, 2008 |
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NASA to break its world record, to fly 10 times the speed of sound MIL, Nov 15, 2004. Special Correspondent London – NASA is likely to attempt to break a world speed record for the second time in a year by flying at nearly 10 times the speed of sound. Nasa will use X-43A will use "scramjet" engine to break its previous record. According to NASA they are capable of reaching rocket-like speeds and shall not carry an oxidiser on board to ignite its hydrogen fuel since it gets its oxygen from the air. According to BBC. the unmanned flight will take place over the Pacific Ocean on Monday. Scramjet (supersonic combustion ramjet) technology could one day usher in a new generation of space propulsion systems. "Nasa's goal has been to get to space more routinely and in a safer fashion," Joel Sitz, project manager for the X-43A, told the BBC News website. Scramjets could be used to carry a spacecraft high into the atmosphere, after which a rocket would take over to propel the payload into space. "We can't replace rockets, but we could use air from the atmosphere for two-thirds of the trip. That might give us the ability to carry bigger payloads for the same amount of money," Sitz added. The X-43A is one of three planes built as part of Nasa's $230m (£124m) Hyper-X program, described by the agency as "high-risk, high-payoff". The first flight in June 2001 ended prematurely when the booster rocket veered off course and had to be destroyed. But the second, in March 2004, was a resounding success - setting a new aircraft speed record of Mach 6.83 (8,150km/h or 5,060mph). This comfortably beat the previous record set by the Blackbird SR-71 spy plane, which achieved Mach 3.2.
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