DesertFox
03-25-2006, 10:17 PM
A new jet engine designed to fly at seven times the speed of sound appears to have been successfully tested.
The scramjet engine, the Hyshot III, was launched at Woomera, 500km north of Adelaide in Australia, on the back of a two stage Terrier-Orion rocket.
Once 314km up, the Hyshot III fell back to Earth, reaching speeds analysts hope will have topped Mach 7.6 (9,000km/h).
It is hoped the British-designed Hyshot III will pave the way for ultra fast, intercontinental air travel.
... A scramjet - or supersonic combustion ramjet - is mechanically very simple. It has no moving parts and takes all of the oxygen it needs to burn hydrogen fuel from the air.
This makes it more efficient than a conventional rocket engine as it does not need to carry its own oxygen supply, meaning that a vehicle using one could potentially carry a larger payload.
As the engine continues its downward path the fuel in the scramjet ignites automatically. This experiment was expected to start working at a height of 35km.
However scramjets do not begin to work until they reach five times the speed of sound.
More (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4832254.stm)
The scramjet engine, the Hyshot III, was launched at Woomera, 500km north of Adelaide in Australia, on the back of a two stage Terrier-Orion rocket.
Once 314km up, the Hyshot III fell back to Earth, reaching speeds analysts hope will have topped Mach 7.6 (9,000km/h).
It is hoped the British-designed Hyshot III will pave the way for ultra fast, intercontinental air travel.
... A scramjet - or supersonic combustion ramjet - is mechanically very simple. It has no moving parts and takes all of the oxygen it needs to burn hydrogen fuel from the air.
This makes it more efficient than a conventional rocket engine as it does not need to carry its own oxygen supply, meaning that a vehicle using one could potentially carry a larger payload.
As the engine continues its downward path the fuel in the scramjet ignites automatically. This experiment was expected to start working at a height of 35km.
However scramjets do not begin to work until they reach five times the speed of sound.
More (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4832254.stm)