Hyper-X - Flight into the Millennium

One of the difficulties with supersonic craft like Concorde is that the long pointed aerodynamic nose severely limits the pilot’s visibility during take off and landing. To overcome this Concorde was fitted with a pivoted nose that hinges down at subsonic speeds for both take off and landing. Designers have decided that this option is too heavy and bulky for the HSCT so their pilots will have to land and take off without ever seeing the runway. They will have to rely on a system of radar, video and infrared cameras. I wonder who will want to be onboard the maiden flight!

The HSCT has to be funded by a government agency because it requires so much basic research. To progress past this initial stage of development the HSCT will require significant private investment. Some industry analysts estimate that it will take at least 200 of these super-fast airliners to satisfy the world’s airlines, perhaps many more. The HSCT will be able to fly non-stop over the Pacific from Los Angeles to Melbourne, presently the world’s longest flight, in under 5 hours, slashing almost 10 hours of the present travelling time. In the not too distant future the HSCT may be a common sight in our skies but even this plane will have its limitations.

NASA Non-stop luxury: HSCT will be capable of flying over 200 passengers at supersonic speeds across the Pacific.

New propulsion for a new Millennium

Finding a new system of propulsion is essential if we want to travel really fast. Every jet engine flying today uses the same principles as the first engines developed by British engineer Sir Frank Whittle in the 1940s. Even rocket power has it drawbacks. The fastest aircraft ever to fly was the rocket powered X15 in 1967. It flew at Mach 6.7, an incredible 4,690mph, and reached an altitude of over 60 miles - the very edge of space. It was so fuel inefficient that its liquid fuel only lasted for a few minutes. And the Space Shuttle needs to carry more than it own bodyweight in fuel. The Orbiter weighs a mere 77 tons but must carry 1,785 tons of fuel to lift off.

If we want to build airliners that can travel much faster than HSCT, perhaps as fast as the X15 or the Shuttle, we will have to develop a completely new type of aircraft. It must be one that uses far less fuel but is still capable of flying in and out of space. Right now a NASA-Boeing team are developing a unique 'air breathing' rocket engine prototype called Hyper-X. It will be so powerful that it will shatter all previous speed and altitude limits. This new design the Hyper-X will take off like a plane but fly like a spaceship.