HyShot Scramjet Test Declared a Success

An anonymous reader writes: "ABC news is reporting that analysis of the flight data from the recent HyShot scramjet test (covered by Slashdot previously) suggests that the test was successful and that the engine achieved combustion in flight after reaching Mach 7.6. The University of Queensland is also reporting the news."

Comments

Re:Actual Destinations?

[Oculus Habent]

Mach 7.6 is right around 2,260 m/s (7,414 ft/s) or about 5,055 mph. It would still take you 5 hours to circumnavigate the globe. Plus you have to consider acceleration time - the rocket doesn't have to worry about killing people.

Realistically, we probably won't hit Mach 7 in commercial flights for some time, and there will probably be "low-speed" versions for shorter distances. As the article notes (emphasis mine):

The engine kicked into action on the way back down at 35 kilometres above the earth, with data transmitted by radio until it began to burn up.

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