Scramjet hits 10 times the speed of sound

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An experimental jet engine traveling at up to 10 times the speed of sound reached an altitude of 530km in a 12-minute test flight in the Australian outback today.

Scientists hope the engine will ultimately propel the next generation of supersonic planes, with predictions a flight between Sydney and London could take just two hours.

The scramjet engine spent 12 minutes and 15 seconds in the air today after being launched from the Woomera rocket range in South Australia's north.

It reached speeds of Mach 10 - about 11,000km/h - during re-entry to the earth's atmosphere.

The scramjet is an air-breathing supersonic combustion ramjet engine and was tested in a collaborative experiment by Australia's Defense Science and Technology Organization (DSTO) and the United States' Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).

"The test has obtained the first-ever flight data on the inward-turning scramjet engine design," DARPA spokesman Steven Walker said.

"We are pleased ... and believe that a hypersonic airplane could be a reality in the not too distant future."

DSTO scientist Dr Warren Harch said besides the high travel speeds, the scramjet would also offer fuel efficiencies in the future.

"This technology has the potential to put numerous defense and civilian aerospace applications within our reach during the next couple of decades," Dr Harch said.

Likely defense applications included long-range, time critical missions, while civilian uses included low-cost satellite launching as well as high-speed passenger aircraft, he said.

Data from today's test flight would take up to two weeks to analyze, he said.

This was found at The Sydney Morning Herald.