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ISRO Successfully Test-fires Scramjet Rocket Engine (thehindu.com)
An anonymous reader writes: Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro), on Sunday, successfully tested two indigenous scramjet engines. India has become the fourth country to demonstrate the flight testing of scramjet engine after the US, Russia and European Space Agency.
According to a report, the scramjet will bring down the launch cost of weather satellite INSAT-3DR which is a weather forecast system designed for enhanced meteorological observations and disaster warning. The satellite scheduled to be launched in August earlier, but it has been postponed to September.
According to a report, the scramjet will bring down the launch cost of weather satellite INSAT-3DR which is a weather forecast system designed for enhanced meteorological observations and disaster warning. The satellite scheduled to be launched in August earlier, but it has been postponed to September.
Scientists say that the scramjet technology effectively cuts down the cost of launching rockets by reducing its weight by more than half
Not really. Scramjets have a limited speed range, so you need a rocket (or perhaps another type of jet engine) to bring it up to the lower limit, and then another rocket to take it from maximum speed to orbital speed. This add extra complexity, weight and drag.