Posted on 04/08/2019 7:06:11 PM PDT by BenLurkin
Fans of supersonic flight have been yearning for a new way to break the sound barrier ever since Concorde stopped flying in 2003.
Now successful tests of a key part of an air-breathing rocket engine may have brought that dream a step closer to reality.
UK company Reaction Engines announced successful tests of a precooler on Monday, simulating conditions at Mach 3.3, or more than three times the speed of sound.
That's more than 50% faster than the cruising speed of Concorde -- which used to make the journey between New York and Paris in around 3.5 hours -- and matches the speed record of the fastest jet aircraft ever made, the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird.
The precooler tests were part of the company's plans to develop the Synergetic Air-Breathing Rocket Engine (SABRE) engine and took place at a testing facility at the Colorado Air and Space Port in the United States.
At such high speeds, air flowing through the engine can reach incredibly high temperatures, which can potentially cause damage.
A precooler reduces the temperature of gases before they enter the core engine itself.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
You tell me. I was a (X-30) Naspeteer. We intended to have guys streaking across the sky like a meteor, lol.
Thank you, honored one, lol. I like to think there is an Aurora out there somewhere and some badass American pilot flying it. I respect Neil Armstrong more for flying a X-15 than his moonwalk.
The legendary beast....https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/north-american-x-15
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