NASA employees are preparing to launch a new hypersonic unmanned aircraft X-43A, or rather its experimental version. Thanks to the scramjet engine with which it is equipped, this aircraft can reach 10 times the speed of sound. The aircraft will be attached to a rocket and lifted by a B-52 bomber. Thus, with the help of a rocket, experts are going to accelerate the plane and at an altitude of 33 km disconnect the plane, after which it will make a short flight.
In early spring 2007, the first successful tests of this aircraft were carried out, in which it managed to reach a speed of 7 M. Earlier, in 2001, tests were unsuccessful. As reported in some sources, the result was a breakdown of the booster rocket. The length of the aircraft reaches 3.6 m, and the wingspan is 1.5 m. The engine with which the aircraft is equipped is an experimental version of a ramjet engine of supersonic combustion. The fuel for the aircraft is a mixture of oxygen and hydrogen, so the aircraft does not leave harmful emissions into the atmosphere. In the future, such an engine is planned to be used for delivery to low-earth orbit. The only drawback of such an engine is its need for preliminary acceleration. A rather impressive amount of money has already been spent on the tests of such an engine. The aircraft was developed by a research center.
