Stratolaunch Systems, the company behind the world's largest aircraft, is making headlines again. The firm's Talon-A1 hypersonic test aircraft has successfully completed its first powered flight, which took place last weekend in Mojave, California.
For readers who may be unfamiliar with Stratolaunch, the US aerospace company originally set out to develop a unique air-launch-to-orbit system.
In a nutshell, the idea was that instead of being launched straight from the ground, a client's spacecraft would be mounted beneath a special launch aircraft, flown to a very high altitude, then released. The spacecraft would subsequently fire up its rocket engines to complete its journey into Earth's orbit.
It was envisioned that the system would be a less expensive and more efficient alternative to the fuel-hungry, single-use rockets which are typically used to take spacecraft from a launchpad on the ground all the way up to outer space (fighting Earth's gravity the whole time).
Stratolaunch also stated that turnaround time between launches would be much shorter than is currently possible, allowing for a larger number of launches within a given time period. The gigantic twin-fuselage launch aircraft that the company designed for its system is called the Roc.
Next-gen supersonic aircraft takes flight
By David Szondy
March 24, 2024
https://newatlas.com/aircraft/xb-1-boom-supersonic/
The first private supersonic aircraft since Concorde retired two decades ago has taken to the skies. On March 22, Boom's XB-1 supersonic demonstrator completed its maiden flight at the Mojave Air & Space Port in Mojave, California.
When the last Concorde touched down on November 6, 2003, it didn't just seem like the end of an era, but a major technological step backwards. It was a rare example of the world losing an entire capability with the abandonment of commercial supersonic air travel without anything anywhere to replace it.
Today, NASA and a number of private companies are working on projects to reinstate faster-than-sound air travel that will not only carry passengers and cargo, but will be environmentally friendly and economically feasible. The latter is a polite way of saying that they hope it will make money.
Quarterhorse hypersonic aircraft program prepares to fly Mk1 prototype
By David Szondy
April 02, 2024
Fast-tracking the hypersonic era, Hermeus has rolled out the next prototype of its program, to create a family of aircraft that can fly beyond Mach 5. The Quarterhorse Mk 1 is scheduled to fly later this year, testing its high-speed takeoffs and landings.
The Mk 1 is the latest in the company's Mk 0 prototype, which made its first taxi tests last November. To illustrate the approach that Hermeus is taking toward creating hypersonic aircraft, each of the four prototypes under development are aimed primarily at testing one major phase of flight.
When I say that the Mk 0 made taxi tests, that was all the air frame was designed to do. This year's Mk 1 won't go hypersonic because it isn't remotely capable of such a thing. That's not surprising, because, while it can fly and has the profile of a hypersonic glide vehicle, it's powered by a lightweight GE J85 jet engine that can generate a mere 3,500 lb of thrust.
Boom's XB-1 cleared for supersonic test flights
By David Szondy
April 17, 2024
https://newatlas.com/aircraft/boom-supe ... ceed-mach/
Boom has been given permission to go supersonic by the US FAA. The first-ever Special Flight Authorization (SFA) to Exceed Mach means the company's XB-1 prototype will be allowed to break the sound barrier during its test flights.
So far, Boom's XB-1 has completed one wheels-down test flight, but if it's to travel faster than Mach 1, it has to have all the paperwork in order. Civilian supersonic flight is illegal in US airspace, so the company has to have special FAA permission to carry out its supersonic flight program.
In addition, clearing the XB-1, the permission also designated the Black Mountain Supersonic Corridor at Edwards Air Force Base in California and part of the High Altitude Supersonic Corridor within the R-2515 airspace as a permissible area for Boom to conduct supersonic test flights.
Precooled F-100 Engine Combined with Ramjet for Hypersonic Drone and Jets
August 8, 2024 by Brian Wang
The startup Hermeus is rapidly developing a hypersonic plane. They have begun testing their proprietary precooler technology with the Pratt & Whitney F100 engine. This video highlights some of our favorite camera angles from testing.
What’s a precooler and why are they testing it? The Hermeus precooler increases the maximum speed of the turbine engine by lowering the temperature of incoming air. This is the first major propulsion milestone for their next aircraft, Quarterhorse Mk 2, which will utilize this engine configuration and fly at supersonic speeds.
China Hypersonic Prototype Plane Flight Tests for 2025 and Commercialization in 2035
September 2, 2024 by Brian Wang
Nanqiang No. 1 is a small (500 kilogram) ground testing model for a Chinese hypersonic plane program. They have completed over two years of testing. In 2025, China will flight test a small drone. In 2025, construction of a 72 ton hypersonic plane will begin. They are targeting 2028 for flight tests of a hypersonic plane that could hold ten passengers and are targeting 2035 for the start of commercial service for hypersonic plane.
Nanqiang No. 1 uses a combined cycle engine known as MUTTER (multi-ducted twin-turbines ejector-ramjet/scramjet). This unique power system consists of two air-breathing ramjet or scramjet engines, a small rocket, and two turbine engines.
The MUTTER engine is more complex than most previous proposals for hypersonic flight vehicles. Some experts were against the idea because adding the rocket could make the aircraft too heavy for a lengthy flight.
The MUTTER design was still pursued by Yin’s team along with several improvements to increase flight efficiency, such as requiring three different engine types to share a single air inlet. Early test flights, ground testing, and computer modeling indicated that the concept worked.
Rotating detonation ramjet engine for hypersonic speeds to fly in 2025
By David Szondy
October 03, 2024
When is an empty tube not an empty tube? When it's a ramjet that uses rotating detonation technology to propel aircraft at hypersonic speeds. A case in point is Venus Aerospace's new Venus Detonation Ramjet 2000 lb Thrust Engine (VDR2).
One of the biggest hurdles that need to be cleared in making hypersonic flight practical is building engines that are capable of sustained thrust.
Currently, hypersonic systems are mainly based on glide bodies that are boosted to high speed and altitude by rockets and then accelerate to over Mach 5 by gliding back to lower altitudes. However, if you want to build airliners that can fly from San Francisco to Tokyo in one hour, you need something more like a jet engine.
Venus Aerospace advanced propulsion system is engineered to power high-speed vehicles, including drones and aircraft, enabling them to travel vast distances at high altitudes and achieve high-Mach speeds with unmatched efficiency. The VDR2 combines the high thrust and efficiency of the Rotating Detonation Rocket Engine (RDRE) with the high efficiency cruise of a Ramjet. This offers a single engine from take-off to as fast as Mach 6, with a streamlined airflow design for low drag, and eliminates the need for complex mechanical components.
Boom Supersonic XB-1 hits new speed record in latest test flight
By Joe Salas
October 10, 2024
Boom's XB-1 supersonic jet took its fifth test flight out of Mojave Air & Space Port on Oct 7th, 2024 setting a few new records in the process. The XB-1 is the one-third-scale platform that Boom is using as the foundation for its eventual Overture aircraft that aims to bring back commercialized supersonic passenger flight.
It's been over 20 years since the Concorde took its last flight. It went supersonic in 1969, able to fly at Mach 2 (about 1,354 mph / 2,180 km/h). Though it could fly passengers from New York to London in under three hours (compared to the typical seven to eight-hour journey), it had two major issues: first, the Concorde was very thirsty. It would burn 5,638 gallons (25,629 L) of fuel per hour at that speed. Secondly, it was very noisy. The sonic booms it would create caused issues when it would fly over land and subsequently, supersonic travel over populated areas was restricted. Oh, and it was really expensive to book a flight in. We're talking US$12,000 for a luxury round trip.
This is quite unfortunate - they had so much promise. I hope a company buys Reaction Engines and incorporate their innovative heat exchange technology where it can be most useful now or further develop it.
WASHINGTON — Reaction Engines Ltd., a British company that has worked for decades on an air-breathing rocket engine for spaceplanes and other hypersonic vehicles, has filed for bankruptcy.
The company formally entered administration, a process under United Kingdom law to allow for the restructuring or liquidation of companies in financial distress, on Oct. 31 after attempts to raise additional funding fell through. PricewaterhouseCoopers has been appointed as administrators of the company during the process, and under U.K. law has eight weeks to develop a plan to restructure or sell the company, or else liquidate its assets.
To know is essentially the same as not knowing. The only thing that occurs is the rearrangement of atoms in your brain.
raklian wrote: ↑Mon Nov 11, 2024 4:00 am
This is quite unfortunate - they had so much promise. I hope a company buys Reaction Engines and incorporate their innovative heat exchange technology where it can be most useful now or further develop it.
WASHINGTON — Reaction Engines Ltd., a British company that has worked for decades on an air-breathing rocket engine for spaceplanes and other hypersonic vehicles, has filed for bankruptcy.
The company formally entered administration, a process under United Kingdom law to allow for the restructuring or liquidation of companies in financial distress, on Oct. 31 after attempts to raise additional funding fell through. PricewaterhouseCoopers has been appointed as administrators of the company during the process, and under U.K. law has eight weeks to develop a plan to restructure or sell the company, or else liquidate its assets.
Maybe they can release their patents to public domain so any company can use them? One can only hope...
Rocket plane makes first civil supersonic flight since Concorde
By David Szondy
November 18, 2024
The rebirth of commercial supersonic flight has kind of, sort of come to pass as Dawn Aerospace announces that its 16-ft (4.8-m) Mk-II Aurora rocket-powered aircraft broke the sound barrier with a speed of Mach 1.1 on November 12, 2024.
Ever since the Anglo-French Concorde retired in 2003, civil supersonic flight has been something of a lost art. In recent years, a number of startups have been working on various projects to create a new generation of supersonic transports that are quieter, greener, more efficient, and cost effective to operate.
Now, one supersonic aircraft has actually taken flight, albeit in the form of an uncrewed, remotely piloted experimental craft with a wingspan of 13 ft (4 m) and a dry weight of 880 lb (399 kg). In the skies over New Zealand's Glentanner Aerodrome near the base of Aoraki/Mount Cook, the Mk-II Aurora hit Mach 1.1 while climbing to an altitude of 82,500 ft (25,150 m).
The ram-rotor detonation engine: A new era of hypersonic propulsion
By Joe Salas
December 04, 2024
A self-propagating series of explosions, contained between the blades of a high-speed rotor, promises a leap in power and efficiency during hypersonic flight – provided this radical new engine can be built strong enough to withstand its own power.
Since the dawn of flight, people have been chasing the fastest of go-fast propulsion systems – and it's worth taking a look back over some of that history to put this latest invention in context. Skip ahead if you want to dive straight into the new ram-rotor detonation engine!
First came the failed flappy wings of da Vinci's ornithopters, inspired directly by birds. Soon after came propellers, which got the Wright Brothers off the ground using constant thrust from spinning blades that could be connected to an engine. Propellers remained the state of the art right up until WW2.
New supersonic ramjet detonation engine takes to the sky
By Joe Salas
December 20, 2024
Chinese "Space Transportation" company, Lingkong Tianxing Technology, has successfully tested its new JinDou400, also known as JinDouyun, ramjet detonation engine nearly twice the altitude of commercial passenger planes and more than doubling the Concorde's fastest speeds during its test.
The state-of-the-art engine's successful Mach 4 flight (3,106 mph / 5,000 km/h) at 65,000 ft (19,812 m) marks a crucial step for the Chinese company as the engine is going to be the heart of the future Yunxing supersonic passenger plane, also designed by Space Transportation.
Traditional ramjet engines work by relying on the aircraft's speed to scoop up and compress air into the engine. This compressed air mixes with fuel, ignites, and produces thrust. The engine doesn't have moving parts like turbines or compressors. It relies solely on the fast-moving air.
Boom XB-1 pushes the sound barrier before supersonic flight
By David Szondy
January 14, 2025
Commercial supersonic flight sped closer to returning as the Boom Supersonic XB-1 prototype reached a transonic speed of Mach 0.95 during Test Flight 11 on January 10, 2025, in the skies over the Mojave Desert in California.
It's been over 21 years since the last Concorde supersonic aircraft retired, marking the first time that humanity completely lost a technological capability. In this case, a commercial aircraft capable of sustained supersonic cruising. In part, this was a matter of economics. In part, it was political. And a large part was a matter of running ahead of what the state of the art could support in a practical fashion.
It's a high-risk venture and while some companies have fallen by the financial wayside, a shrinking number have been pushing the envelope in hopes of developing a 21st century airliner that is not only capable of supersonic cruising speeds but can do so economically and without being trailed by the dreaded sonic boom.
Boom plans to go supersonic tomorrow: How to watch
By David Szondy
January 27, 2025
https://newatlas.com/aircraft/boom-plan ... -to-watch/
After 10 months of flight testing, Boom Supersonic has announced that it will make the first supersonic flight of its XB-1 prototype tomorrow at 7:45 am PST in the skies over the Mojave Desert in California. Here's how to watch.
When Concorde first took to the air in 1969, it was as great a technological achievement as the Moon landings and was hoped to herald the start of an age of commercial supersonic travel. It turned out to be a false start, with only about a dozen of the super jets going into service with the British and French national airlines as a high-status offering.
However, the promise is still there, with the possibility of us one day seeing as many supersonic commercial transports on intercontinental routes as their subsonic counterparts, and some companies like Boom are keen to get in on the ground floor.
