Seattle to New York in under an hour? Air Force to test Boeing-built hypersonic jet
Aug 14, 2012, 8:24 AM | Updated: 12:07 pm
The Air Force Tuesday will test the experimental X-51A WaveRider, which could fly at speeds of up to 3,600 miles per hour (AP image)
(AP image)
Imagine flying from Seattle to New York in less than an hour. The Air Force plans on Tuesday to test an experimental Boeing-built aircraft designed to fly at six times the speed of sound, or about 3,600 mph.
The Los Angeles Times reports the unmanned X-51 WaveRider is expected to reach Mach 6 when it’s dropped by a modified B-52 bomber and takes flight off the Southern California coast.
Engineers hope the aircraft sustains its top speed for 300 seconds, 50,000 feet up. That’s twice as long as it’s gone before.
The X-51 is expected to break up and fall into the ocean at the end of its flight.
Engineers say the goal is to harness technology to sustain hypersonic speeds crucial to the next generation of missiles, military aircraft, spacecraft – and even passenger planes, the Times reports.
The last generation of supersonic carrier, the Concorde, flew at a top speed of 1,350 mph.
Last year, in its most recent test, the X-51 fell for about four seconds before its booster rocket ignited, but the aircraft failed to separate from the rocket and plunged into the ocean.
