Posted on 02/26/2009 12:01:42 PM PST by BenLurkin
EDWARDS AFB - The base that first broke the sound barrier is once again pushing the boundaries of flight test, this time with sustained flight at hypersonic speeds.
The Air Force Flight Test Center at Edwards Air Force Base is responsible for the upcoming flight test of the X-51, a vehicle designed to travel at speeds greater than five times the speed of sound.
The project takes on special meaning as no hypersonic project has made it to the flight test phase in a number of years, he said.
The last one - also from Edwards - was NASA's X-43A, which reached speeds nearly 10 times the speed of sound in November 2004.
"It's very exciting right now in the hypersonics community," Roberts said.
"Hypersonics is so new, so in development, a lot of times you have paper projects" that never lead to actual flight test hardware due to lack of funding or changing priorities, he said.
The X-51 has created a sense of excitement because it is about to take the next step and actually fly.
"This one is hardware, and we're getting ready to fly," said Johnny Armstrong, chief engineer of the Hypersonics CTF.
The X-51 "Waverider" uses a scramjet engine to achieve hypersonic speeds.
In ramjet and scramjet engines, air is scooped into the engine duct then forced through a combustion chamber, where fuel is mixed in and ignited. This produces energy, which is forced out the rear of the engine as thrust.
Scramjets have an advantage over conventional rocket and turbojet engines in that they are more efficient. These air-breathing engines do not have to carry oxidizers on board to mix with fuel, instead using oxygen from the air.
(Excerpt) Read more at avpress.com ...
Has thing got an Edelbrock supercharger? Wow. Mighty swift aircraft!
Indeed. My bad!
What is an Edelbrock supercharger?
Intercept this ....
It’s one of these:
http://www.edelbrock.com/media/news/2007/automotive/img/1554.jpg
Is this a plane or a missile? From the picture it looks like some type of missile. Is it piloted by an on board pilot? Just curious.
It’s an after market piece of kit that you put on top of your auto engine. It forces air into the motor and increases the horsepower by a considerable margin. Nothing like hearing a real nice “blower” wind up as you crush the pedal to the floor.
bfl
If you have a scramjet vehicle that can carry a piggy-backed rocket almost to orbital height and velocity, it makes it much easier to actually get into orbit.
I wonder whatever happened to the Aurora project? Or was it just a deception plan?
Like a turbocharger, a supercharger forces more air into the combustion chamber. Unlike a turbocharger, a supercharger is mechanically driven by a belt from the crankshaft, like the water pump and alternator are.
I think it’s launched atop a rocket, then separates when it gets up to speed.
Thanks for the ping. I don’t know what happened to the Aurora project.
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