Scramjet' launched on Mach 10 flight attempt off California
A tiny unmanned NASA "scramjet" soared over the Pacific Ocean Tuesday to demonstrate a radical new engine technology by attempting to fly at a record speed of about 7,000 mph, almost 10 times the speed of sound.
The 12-foot-long X-43A supersonic combustion ramjet was to fly under its own power at Mach 10 for about 10 seconds after separating from a booster rocket at 110,000 feet, then glide to a splash landing.
The X-43A, mounted on a Pegasus rocket used to boost it to flight speed, was carried under the wing of a B-52 aircraft and released at an altitude of 40,000 feet over a test range off the Southern California coast. The rocket motor then fired for a 90-second ascent.
Like its predecessors, the X-43A will not be recovered from the ocean.