The X-51A WaveRider, built by Boeing's advanced R&D team Phantom Works and powered by a Pratt & Whitney / Rocketdyne supersonic combustion ramjet (scramjet) engine, achieved flight history on Wednesday, May 26th. In its very first attempt, the experimental unmanned aircraft successfully completed the longest supersonic combustion ramjet-powered flight in history, accelerating to Mach 5 (5 times the speed of sound, around 3,500 mph) and reaching a peak altitude of 70,000 feet within 200 seconds of flight. The event took place near Edwards Air Force Base in Southern California, where a B-52H Stratofortress carried the X-51A under its left wing prior to releasing it for its test flight. After release, the X-51A was initially propelled by an attached solid rocket booster before this eventually detached and the X-51A's main engine took over. If this technology matures enough, imagine being able to travel from L.A. to N.Y. in under 30 minutes! It would revolutionize the way we travel in the skies (and even in outer space). This initial test flight represents one of 4 X-51A aircraft already built by Boeing. The link below has a neat little 1.5 minute video of the X-51A in flight.
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