NASA’s "scramjet" engine technology ready for Mars mission! UFO encounters possible at Mach 10 and above!
N.K. Subramanium, Special orrespondent
November 19, 2004

VIEW SLIDESHOW>>

NASA created history when an unmanned experimental jet broke a world record for speed on Tuesday, cruising over the Pacific Ocean at just under 7,000 miles per hour in a NASA test of cutting-edge "scramjet" engine technology. The Mach 10 above is the speed at which UFOs move around claims UFO researchers. In this speed range the space crafts can probably encounter some of the UFO vehicles.

The X-43A aircraft flew at a speed of around Mach 9.6 -- nearly ten times the speed of sound -- after a booster rocket took it to around 110,000 feet and then separated. A modified B-52 airplane had carried the experimental plane and booster aloft. It was the last of three test launches for the X-43A series and its supersonic-combustion ramjet or "scramjet" engine. The scramjet scoops up oxygen from the air rather than carrying liquid oxygen in a tank like an ordinary rocket. Scramjet technology, NASA has said, could open the way to cheaper, safer and faster flights into the upper atmosphere, with smaller and lighter craft. "I think it's easier than people think it is. We can really do this stuff. I don''t mean to make it sound too easy, but it's definitely doable," said Randy Voland, a senior research engineer on the project, at a news conference after the test. The eight-year, $230 million program got off to a rough start in June 2001 when the first X-43A and its booster rocket had to be destroyed in mid-air. The second attempt, in March of this year, successfully reached a speed of Mach 7. That Mach 7 flight set the previous world record for a jet-powered vehicle, NASA said.

The high-risk, high-payoff flight, originally scheduled for Nov. 15, took place in restricted airspace over the Pacific Ocean northwest of Los Angeles. The flight was the last and fastest of three unpiloted flight tests in NASA's Hyper-X Program. The program's purpose is to explore an alternative to rocket power for space access vehicles. 

"This flight is a key milestone and a major step toward the future possibilities for producing boosters for sending large and critical payloads into space in a reliable, safe, inexpensive manner," said NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe. "These developments will also help us advance the Vision for Space Exploration, while helping to advance commercial aviation technology," Administrator O'Keefe said. 

Supersonic combustion ramjets (scramjets) promise more airplane-like operations for increased affordability, flexibility and safety in ultra high-speed flights within the atmosphere and for the first stage to Earth orbit. The scramjet advantage is once it is accelerated to about Mach 4 by a conventional jet engine or booster rocket, it can fly at hypersonic speeds, possibly as fast as Mach 15, without carrying heavy oxygen tanks, as rockets must. 

The design of the engine, which has no moving parts, compresses the air passing through it, so combustion can occur. Another advantage is scramjets can be throttled back and flown more like an airplane, unlike rockets, which tend to produce full thrust all the time. 

"The work of the Langley-Dryden team and our Vehicle Systems Program has been exceptional," said NASA's Associate Administrator for Aeronautics Research J. Victor Lebacqz. "This shows how much we can accomplish when we manage the risk and work together toward a common goal. NASA has made a tremendous contribution to the body of knowledge in aeronautics with the Hyper-X program, as well as making history." 

The flight was postponed by one day when repair of an instrumentation problem with the X-43A caused a delay. When the preflight checklist was resumed, not enough time remained to meet the FAA launch deadline of 7 p.m. EST. 

Today, the X-43A, attached to its modified Pegasus rocket booster, took off from Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., tucked under the wing of the B-52B launch aircraft. The booster and X-43A were released from the B-52B at 40,000 feet and the booster's engine ignited, taking the X-43A to its intended altitude and speed. The X-43A then separated from the booster and accelerated on scramjet power to a brief flight at nearly Mach 10.