35-Minute Flights From New York To London Thanks To Hypersonic Tech, Mach 7 Passenger Jet Engine Test Successful
High-speed air travel is one step closer to offering hypersonic global transport thanks to the successful testing of a Mach 7 passenger jet engine. NASA and Australian developers are working on HiFIRE technology that would make global travel cheaper and quicker than ever before. The technology utilizes scramjet engines attached to rocket boosters to achieve Mach 7 speeds which are seven times the speed of sound.
The Daily Mail reports that travelers may soon be able to take a hypersonic flight from New York to London in just 35 minutes thanks to new technology being tested by NASA. The idea of mass hypersonic passenger jet travel is coming closer to reality after a successful test of a Mach 7.5 engine. The test was conducted by U.S. and Australian military research teams. The scramjet with rocket booster attachment met the Mach 7.5 speeds and went a distance of 172 miles. With top speeds of Mach 7.5, the jet went seven times faster than the speed of sound.
Is hypersonic commercial air travel realistic? via the @FoxNews App #hypersonic https://t.co/0zjd1BBg2h
— Al Grossnickle (@AlGrossnickle) May 29, 2016
Australia’s chief scientist Alex Zelinsky notes that the successful testing of the hypersonic engine is “game-changing” as it brings high-speed air travel one step closer to reality. Zelinksy claims that the new technology will not only increase speeds between destinations but also help cut travel expenses.
“It is a game-changing technology…and could revolutionize global air travel, providing cost-effective access to space.”
Hypersonic International Flight Research Experimentation (HIFiRE), the group working on the high-speed technology, says that the ultimate goal is to create a passenger jet that could consistently fly at speeds of Mach 7, or 5370 mph. This would allow travelers the ability to quickly hop the globe with more efficiency. For example, a trip from London to New York would take 35 minutes and a trip from London to Sydney could take just two hours despite traveling an astonishing 10,500 miles.
London to Sydney in 2 hours! ? https://t.co/HUZCFW9agz
— Gadgette (@Gadgette) May 29, 2016
The technology needed to offer consistent high-speed travel is complex and cannot be done with a typical gas engine. Instead, it is revealed travel at these speeds requires a special engine that has absolutely no rotating parts. Without moving parts, the engine relies instead on the creation of “shockwaves” that flow under the aircraft giving it lift.
“Instead of the rotating compressor and turbine in a jet engine, air is compressed and expanded by complex systems of shockwaves under the front of the aircraft, inside the inlet and under the fuselage at the rear.”
The improvements in engine testing at hypersonic speeds is also providing new hope to the NASA’s New Aviation Horizons project which includes their “X-planes.” While the Mach 7 speeds of the latest projects are extremely promising for the future of high-speed air travel, numerous private sector groups are also working on models that could provide even faster travel options.
Charles Bombardier has unveiled a concept jet that can travel at Mach 24. The concept jet is smaller in size and could only carry 10 passengers. However, those 10 passengers would traverse from New York to London in just 11 minutes at unimaginable speeds. For comparison, the jet would be 12 times faster than the Concorde and would be traveling an astonishing 18,414 miles per hour.
Successful hypersonic rocket test will change air travel forever https://t.co/S4pKo5iB15
— Dr. Ian Pitchford (@IanPitchford) May 24, 2016
At one point, the Concorde was hailed as the future of air travel as it was the fastest passenger jet in commercial service. However, due to concerns over fuel usage, a single Concorde crash and a failing commercial flight market following 9/11, the Concorde was grounded in 2003.
What do you think about the idea of passenger jets traveling at Mach 7 or even Mach 24 speeds? Will these concept jets change the future of travel or will they meet the same fate as the Concorde?
[Image via Shutterstock]