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The HyperSoar is a hypersonic aircraft concept designed by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory engineer Preston Carter. It is capable of flying at around Mach 12 (9200 MPH), allowing it to transit between any two points on the globe in under two hours. The HyperSoar is predicted to be a passenger plane capable of skipping outside the atmosphere.
On 16 November, 2004, NASA's unmanned Hyper-X (X-43A) aircraft reached Mach 9.6. The X-43A was boosted to an altitude of 33,223 meters (109,000 feet) by a Pegasus rocket launched from beneath a B52-B jet aircraft. The revolutionary 'scramjet' aircraft then burned its engine for around 10 seconds during its flight over the Pacific Ocean.
Originally posted by toreishi
wait, maybe i'm just a bit thickheaded or something but let me get this straight.
the D-21 evolves into RATTLRS while Hyper-X will eventually become HyperSOAR and HyperSOAR + RATTLRS = FALCON (SR-72?) .. did i get that right?
and why Mach 6? they broke M9.6 way back in 2004, why are they aiming low now?
[edit on 1.1.08 by toreishi]