Aurora - Secret Hypersonic Spyplane

The best possibilities are methane and hydrogen. Liquid hydrogen provides more than three times as much energy and absorbs six times more heat per pound than any other fuel. The downfall is its low density, which means larger fuel tanks, a larger airframe and more drag. While liquid hydrogen is the fuel of choice for spacelaunch vehicles that accelerate quickly out of the atmosphere, studies have shown that liquid methane is better for an aircraft cruising at Mach 5 to Mach 7. Methane is widely available, provides more energy than jet fuels, and can absorb five times as much heat as kerosene. Compared with liquid hydrogen, it is three times denser and easier to handle.

Current Knowledge of Aurora

On 16 November 1998, a camcorder video was taken of a mysterious "fireball" in the sky. While this was very interesting, what was even more amazing was the aircraft which was seen shortly after flying at very high speed producing the mysterious "donuts-on-a-rope" contrails. Does this video, which is currently undergoing intense study at JPL, show the mysterious Aurora spyplane? (Download, 1.5Mb here).

For more information

Video: Battle for the Skies [21st Century War Machines]
Is the era of the fighter aircraft over? This documentary traces back the history and technology of the fighter aircraft, looking at some of the most famous and at whether unmanned aerial vehicles are the future for battles in the sky.

X-planes on DVD

Find out about the race to create the best secret military aircraft in the US in the acclaimed PBS Nova DVD Battle of the X-Planes