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Australian Scramjet Launched
CaptainAlbert writes: "The University of Queensland, Australia is reporting the (possible) success of their "HyShot" scramjet test. The BBC have got this covered too. Apparently, they're now poring over the data loggers, trying to figure out if it actually flew under its own power." We had a story about these guys a while back.
As if recent events (attacks on the World Trade Centres, Anthrax Attacks) raising our collective conciousness into a state of terror wasn't bad enough, Halloween is just around the corner. Soon, a new terror, a spooky terror, will unfold as the souls of thousands of innocent civilians who died, raise from the dead on All Hallow's Eve to terrorise yawl's neighborhood. And you people have the gall to be discussing scramjet technology???? My *god*, people, GET SOME PRIORITIES!
The angry souls of the recent dead could give a good god damn about scramjet technology (although they would probably agree that travelling at Mach 8 is pretty cool stuff), instead preferring to wander the areas where they met their untimely ends, seeking out unwitting victims for retribution. By all means, on the evening of Hallowe'en, try to avoid the area around Ground Zero of the WTC, the area near the Pentagon, and the crash site in Pennsylvania unless you don't mind becoming a victim of terror (a very spooky terror indeed), yourself.
You have been warned!
Let's just assume that in ten years time you'll be able to travel from London to Sydney on one of these things. What are the implications with regard to terrorism? Seriously. As we have seen a 747 full of fuel is very effective bomb, wouldn't one of these be so much worse due to momentum? And of course they would reach their target so much more quickly.
My other thought is, if they travel so fast, what mechanism will be used to slow them down at the other end? Just air resistance?
So does the mighty USA Army, but we don't complain about that!
IMO, Concorde demonstrates the superiority of the European and Japanese practices of 'corporate welfare'. We need to get more of this in the USA, or else these more socialist countries will run rings around us technology-wise.
When the profit motive is the only force in the market, the inevitable result is stagnation and monopoly. The Socialist governments of France and the United Kingdom showed that two Socialist countries could achieve what even the greatest nation on earth could not: Supersonic passenger aircraft.
It is interesting to note that the only other supersonic airliner was the Tupolev TU-144 which came from that other Socialist utopia the USSR.
I am not saying the USA should become socialist, but it should recognize that to achive true greatness and kick-ass status, it needs to develop a supersonic airliner of its own, otherwise people will still look to Britain and France as the most advanced nations.
Come on, you can't tell me you don't feel a tinge of national humiliation every time you see the sleek sexy lines of the Concorde parked at JFK airport ?