X-43A: Full Speed Ahead to Mach 10

Posted on: Jul. 15th, 2004 || Source: space.com | E-mail Article | Print Article

EDWARDS, CALIFORNIA -- Engineers here are on the fast-track, readying the next flight of NASA’s X-43A, a super-sleek, high-speed craft powered by a scramjet engine.

Earlier this year, the unpiloted 12-foot-long, 5-foot-wide surfboard-looking vehicle howled its way into the history books. The X-43A reached its test speed of Mach 7 -- seven times the speed of sound, or about 5,000 miles per hour. In doing so it set a world-record speed for “air-breathing” flight, the rocket technology advanced by NASA’s Hyper-X program.

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