NASA Jet Will Try to Go 7,000 MPH (scramjet test rescheduled for 11/16 weather permitting)

AP on Yahoo ^ | 11/15/04 | John Antczak - AP

[NormsRevenge]

Graphic on the X-43A hypersonic aircraft. NASA (news - web sites) is hoping to send the pilotless aircraft across the Pacific Ocean at about 10 times the speed of sound -- almost 3.2 kilometers (two miles) per second.(AFP/File)

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X-43A flight schedule update

The final flight of NASA's X-43A hypersonic research aircraft is still on schedule for Monday afternoon, Nov. 15, weather permitting. The mission is intended to flight-validate the operation of the X-43A's supersonic-combustion ramjet - or scramjet - engine at a record airspeed of almost Mach 10, or 10 times the speed of sound. The X-43A and its modified Pegasus booster rocket was mated to NASA's B-52B launch aircraft on Thursday, Nov. 11. Pre-flight checks of the X-43A and the booster are occurring Friday and Saturday, with final closeouts and fueling slated for Sunday, Nov. 14th.

Takeoff on Nov. 15 is tentatively scheduled for about 1 p.m. Pacific time, with launch about an hour later over the Pacific test range off the coast of Southern California.

Mission events will be broadcast on NASA TV.

http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/index.html

This flight schedule information will be updated periodically as new information becomes available.

[NormsRevenge]

In this photo released by NASA (news - web sites) Langley Research Center, the 12-foot X-43A hypersonic jet is shown attached to a modified B-52 bomber in an image from NASA television. The third and last X-43A 'scramjet' is set to fly at 7,000 mph for 10 or 11 seconds high over the Pacific Ocean off California and then become a glider and perform maneuvers until it splashes down into the ocean. (AP Photo/NASA TV, HO)

[King Prout]

space ping!

[Conspiracy Guy]

12 feet long and 5 feet wide? The pilot must be tiny.

[ChadGore]

Thanks for the post. Is the weather good ? Is the B52 off the ground yet ?

[NormsRevenge]

Thanks!

Infrared image of the world-record Mach 6.8 flight of the second X-43A scramjet on March 27, 2004. U.S. Army.

Mach 10 Meteor: X-43A Scramjet Flight is Risky Business

[Professional Engineer]

Cool picture.

[ChadGore]

Mach 10 must get a little warm.

[ElkGroveDan]

Don't forget this important graphic:

[Fierce Allegiance]

Imagine what the track record at Talladega would be if NASCAR gave up the carbs and went with scramjet technology? You'd need a hell of a push truck though, like the midgets & sprints, to get it up to about mach 1. Now that would be wild! If the "big one" did occur, there wouldn't be much to clean up, though.

[ChadGore]

I'm looking forward to the flight this afternoon.

[NormsRevenge]

Weather looks ok in the test area,, here's hoping they launch on time.

[markman46]

currently clear but winds from the east. at least at ground level

[visualops]

Dang

[NormsRevenge]

[WalterSkinner]

Isn't this the Aurora?

And hasn't this jet "unofficially" been around for a decade?

Otherwise what is causing those big sonic booms out in the desert and leaving "donuts on a rope" vapor trails?

[pabianice]

Then there was the XF-84H "Thunderscreech," an attempt to create a near mach 1 turboprop.

Because the propellor blade tips exceeded mach 1, the airplane created so much noise (over 145 db) that the line crewmen near the plane would vomit onto the ramp. The USAF canceled the program.

[ProudVet77]

the airplane created so much noise (over 145 db) that the line crewmen near the plane would vomit onto the ramp.

Sounds like a great idea for crowd control at the next RNC.
BTW - Anyone notice all the little silhouettes on the side of the BUFF?

[Travis McGee]

Have you ever heard a Harrier nearby over head? Talk about your THUNDERSCREECH!

[oyez]

Instead of a race track you could have a race cylinder.