Saturday, June 16, 2007
Australian Scientists successfully launch hypersonic rocket
Australia's Defence Science and Technology Organisation (DSTO) said it was believed to be the first time a scramjet had been ignited within the Earth's atmosphere.
The researchers said a rocket carrying the scramjet reached speeds of mach 10 -- ten times the speed of sound -- after blasting off at the Woomera range in South Australia Friday. They said it reached an altitude of 530 kilometres (330 miles) before the scramjet was successfully deployed following re-entry to the Earth's atmosphere.
This could cut travelling time from Sydney to London to as little as two hours.
Also, scramjets could also slash the cost of sending satellites into space, because their potential payload was much larger than a rocket carrying its own fuel.
IMO: These have been called 'scamjets' due to the extreme technical challenges involved, but US Army, US Air Force, NASA and others may believe that economic and reliable launch vehicles, missiles etc. may be developed in this way.
The researchers said a rocket carrying the scramjet reached speeds of mach 10 -- ten times the speed of sound -- after blasting off at the Woomera range in South Australia Friday. They said it reached an altitude of 530 kilometres (330 miles) before the scramjet was successfully deployed following re-entry to the Earth's atmosphere.
This could cut travelling time from Sydney to London to as little as two hours.
Also, scramjets could also slash the cost of sending satellites into space, because their potential payload was much larger than a rocket carrying its own fuel.
IMO: These have been called 'scamjets' due to the extreme technical challenges involved, but US Army, US Air Force, NASA and others may believe that economic and reliable launch vehicles, missiles etc. may be developed in this way.
# posted by uv : 8:20 PM
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