London To New York In 35 Minutes, Technology Promises Faster Travel

The recent successful test of hypersonic technology reportedly implies that a flight from London to New York can be made in 35 minutes, and such an event is closer to reality than one could imagine. A collaboration between US-Australian military research teams saw a scramjet attached to a rocket booster being sent to an altitude of 278 kilometers at Mach 7.5, which means seven times the speed of sound, as part of the Hypersonic International Flight Research Experimentation Program (HIFiRE).

Mach 2.5 is approximately the speed limit for gas-turbine engines, and anything above this means the pressure and temperature of air entering the engine is much too high for the turbo machinery inside. A speed of Mach 5 and above needs a different kind of engine like a supersonic combustion ramjet, or scramjet whose engines have no moving parts. Travel turns hypersonic when the high temperature makes the air molecules unstable and they start losing electrons, consequently the air becomes an electrically charged field at these speeds. The air moves through a sequence of channels at supersonic speeds until it slows down to a point where the fuel is more easily injected and ignited, releasing energy and thrust. The air moves even faster at hypersonic speed which makes it tough to slow down to the speed of sound, making specialist fuel and technologies necessary, as can be seen in engines that include the Pulse Detonation Engine (PDE)

"It is a game-changing technology and could revolutionize global air travel, providing cost-effective access to space," said Alex Zelinsky Australia's chief scientist. The test was one of the 10 trials conducted for the hypersonic travel technology at Woomera in South Australia. As per researchers, hypersonic technology could reduce travelling times significantly. A 5571 kilometers trip from London to New York, for instance, would take only about 35 minutes.

According to a hypersonics expert from the University of Queensland, a scramjet is actually a supersonic combustion engine that uses the atmosphere's oxygen as fuel, implying that the technology makes it faster and lighter than fuel propelled rockets. Subsequently, the hypersonic technology also indicates that it can be a good substitute for reaching satellites into space.

Incidentally, the development work for scramjets has been going on for decades, and the first breakthrough was experienced in May 2013 when the a 240 seconds flight over the Pacific was successfully made by the US Air Force Research Laboratory's Boeing X-51A WaveRider. The recent test was used as a marker for measuring heat on the vehicle's exterior in hypersonic flight. The next scheduled test will take place in 2017 and will see the scramjet engine flying on its own, separate from the rocket booster. The project is estimated to be completed by 2018. The recent project involving US space agency NASA, German space organization DLR and aerospace giant Boeing is reportedly attempting to introduce a new supersonic commercial aircraft.