Gizmodo: scramjet

DARPA Unveils Details About the Mach 6 Vulcan Engine

Sean Fallon — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 18:20:00 EDT

How does one design a propulsion system that combines a full-scale turbine engine and a Constant Volume Combustion (CVC) engine that is capable of delivering 12,000 pounds of payload up to 9,000 nautical miles from the continental United States in less than two hours? DARPA has released new details on how they plan on tackling this issue with their Vulcan engine—a ramjet / scramjet hybrid that will take an aircraft like the Falcon HTV-3X from 0 to Mach 4 with a traditional turbine engine, then kick in the CVC to push it to Mach 6 and beyond.

Obviously, that would streamline a process that currently requires a second aircraft to take the plane up to the supersonic speeds necessary to engage a CVC "scramjet" engine. Like all of DARPAs projects, the Vulcan engine is definitely an ambitious undertaking—and the 2012 date they set to have a working prototype doesn't help matters. Check out Aviation Week for more technical details on Vulcan. [Aviationweek via Crave via DVICE]

X-51A's Hypersonic Engine Firing Test Looks Like Pits of Hell or Doom 3 Scenario

Jesus Diaz — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 09:00:57 EDT

Boeing has just completed their firing tests for the stunning X-51A WaveRider Scramjet, and if you want to know what hell looks like, this is it. Or at least, this is how the devil's version of George Foreman's BBQ must look like. This is the first time the scramjet engine has been tested in a full flight propulsion configuration, simulating working conditions at Mach 5 air speed. Jump as fast for more details, higher resolution image and a pic of the whole aircraft.

Apparently, the test has been a complete success, according to Charlie Brink, U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory X-51A program manager: "It marks the first time that a scramjet engine was tested in its simulated 'full flight' propulsion configuration—the Boeing-designed full vehicle fore-body inlet and nozzle."

The X-51A is a concept plane that will demonstrate the scalability of scramjets, engines that achieve speeds similar to rockets but that use air from the atmosphere to burn fuel. In this kind of plane, the engine becomes part of the body of the plane itself (or vice versa). The X-51A will reach Mach 6.5 thanks to new concepts introduced in its design, high temperature materials and airframe/engine integration.

In other words: screw the Mach 5 from Speed Racer. I want one of these. – Jesus Diaz

Successful Design Review and Engine Test Bring Boeing X-51A Closer to Flight [Boeing]

Falcon Hypersonic Jet to Fly at Mach 10 in 2008

Charlie White — Thu, 19 Oct 2006 14:45:50 EDT

The Air Force is preparing to test its Mach 10 speedster, the unmanned Falcon hypersonic test vehicle that will pave the way for jets that can fly faster than a bat out of hell on their way to spying on everyone, dropping bombs and even slinging satellites into orbit.

Expected to first fly in 2008, its creators at Lockheed Martin and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) are putting the final touches on its propulsion system, where the trick is transitioning between jet turbine engines, which work up to Mach 4, and scramjets for higher speeds.

This is one lightning-fast jet, fully three times faster than its predecessor, the SR-71 Blackbird. We were only waiting for this moment to arise, when one day this technology might find its way into passenger planes. – Charlie White

Falcon Fills Blackbird's Shoes [DefenseTech]