BLUF
Christian Orr writes about NASA’s X-43A, which holds the world speed record (Mach 9.6) for a jet-powered aircraft.Summary
Christian Orr writing in for the online magazine 19fortyfive makes the following points regarding the X-43 hypersonic aircraft:
- Three built-last flight 2004.
- Launched from a B52 bomber.
- Used scramjets.
- Intentionally crashed into the ocean.
- A proposed X-43D should reach Mach 15.
References
Recent Runway Posts related to this topic:
- Australia opens hypersonics centre to support defence research - The Runway (airforce.gov.au)
- China’s Recent Hypersonic Weapon Test Was Weirder Than First Reported - The Runway (airforce.gov.au)
- Hypersonic weapons are coming—whether we’re ready or not - The Runway (airforce.gov.au)
References from the Web:
- MAR 2016 X-43A (Hyper-X)-NASA
- JUL 2022 11 remarkable images of NASA's record-breaking hypersonic aircraft X-43A-Interesting Engineering.
- NASA X-43A Scramjet-National Air and Space Museum
