http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20020816/sc_nm/science_australia_scramjet_dc_2SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australian researchers said on Friday an air-breathing hypersonic "scramjet" engine had successfully achieved supersonic ignition in the atmosphere for the first time -- reaching 7.6 times the speed of sound.
Project leader Allan Paull said data analyzed from the July 30 test showed the engine, which uses oxygen in the atmosphere to ignite hydrogen fuel, had reached Mach 7.6 -- a speed that would dramatically cut long-haul flight times around the world.
"We do believe we achieved supersonic flight for the first time," Paull, who heads the University of Queensland "HyShot" program, told Reuters after his team had finished analyzing the results from the experiment.
Engineers say any commercial application is still years down the road but the successful test of the HyShot scramjet at least proves the technology is viable.
The test over the central Australian desert of the air-breathing engine capable of speeds in excess of 5,000 km (3,100 miles) per hour was the first time engineers had managed to make a scramjet work in flight, outside an air tunnel.
The team fired the scramjet engine into the sky on back of Terrier Orion Mk70 rocket, which took it into the upper atmosphere. The engine kicked into action on the way back down at 35 km (22 miles) above the earth, with data transmitted by radio until it began to burn up.
A year ago, U.S. space agency NASA ( news - web sites)\'s test of its multimillion dollar, unmanned X-43A scramjet prototype failed and a previous attempt by the HyShot crew went awry when a rocket used to launch the engine spun out of control.
Topic: Australian Scramjet success again. (Read 867 times)