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Wave rider goes through successful test
USINFO | 2013-10-08 16:19
On May 1, 2013 an experimental unmanned aircraft developed for the US Air Force has flown at more than five times the speed of sound in a test off California. The test marked the fourth and final flight of an X-51A by the Air Force. This is a breakthrough in scramjet technology that allegedly can be used to deliver strikes around the globe within minutes.
As the test went on, the scramjet engine was ignited separating from the booster and accelerating the aircraft to Mach 5.1 (4828 kmh) at 60,000 feet (18,288 meters). Any speed above Mach 5 is generally referred to as «hypersonic». The craft travelled 230 miles in little over six minutes. The flight ended with a planned plunge into the ocean. This was the fourth and last in a series of tests.
The X-51A aircraft is known as the Wave Rider because it stays airborne, in part, with lift generated . The X-51A is unique primarily due to its use of a hydrocarbon fuel in its supersonic combustion ramjet, or Scramjet, propulsion gear. Without any moving parts, hydrocarbon fuel is injected into the scramjet's combustion chamber where it mixes with the air rushing through the chamber and is ignited in a process likened to lighting a match in a hurricane. After being dropped from a B-52 bomber, a solid-rocket booster is used in the initial phase of the plane's flight to accelerate it up to the speed which allows the engine to take over by drawing in air through the craft's forward momentum. As there are no mechanical compressors a scramjet has to be travelling at near-hypersonic speeds to work. The theory and concept is relatively simple but achieving a successful scramjet flight is very technically challenging because of the high speeds and temperatures generated.
The Wave Rider is designed to reach speeds of Mach 6 or above, six times the speed of sound and fast enough to cross the Atlantic Ocean and strike a target in Europe in less than an hour. Many details of the program are classified.The objective is to prove the viability of air-breathing, high-speed scramjet propulsion. As a technology demonstration program, there is no immediate successor to the X-51A. However, the Air Force will continue hypersonic research and the successes of the X-51A will make a contribution into the High Speed Strike Weapon program currently in its formation phase.
As the test went on, the scramjet engine was ignited separating from the booster and accelerating the aircraft to Mach 5.1 (4828 kmh) at 60,000 feet (18,288 meters). Any speed above Mach 5 is generally referred to as «hypersonic». The craft travelled 230 miles in little over six minutes. The flight ended with a planned plunge into the ocean. This was the fourth and last in a series of tests.
The X-51A aircraft is known as the Wave Rider because it stays airborne, in part, with lift generated . The X-51A is unique primarily due to its use of a hydrocarbon fuel in its supersonic combustion ramjet, or Scramjet, propulsion gear. Without any moving parts, hydrocarbon fuel is injected into the scramjet's combustion chamber where it mixes with the air rushing through the chamber and is ignited in a process likened to lighting a match in a hurricane. After being dropped from a B-52 bomber, a solid-rocket booster is used in the initial phase of the plane's flight to accelerate it up to the speed which allows the engine to take over by drawing in air through the craft's forward momentum. As there are no mechanical compressors a scramjet has to be travelling at near-hypersonic speeds to work. The theory and concept is relatively simple but achieving a successful scramjet flight is very technically challenging because of the high speeds and temperatures generated.
The Wave Rider is designed to reach speeds of Mach 6 or above, six times the speed of sound and fast enough to cross the Atlantic Ocean and strike a target in Europe in less than an hour. Many details of the program are classified.The objective is to prove the viability of air-breathing, high-speed scramjet propulsion. As a technology demonstration program, there is no immediate successor to the X-51A. However, the Air Force will continue hypersonic research and the successes of the X-51A will make a contribution into the High Speed Strike Weapon program currently in its formation phase.
