WEST PALM BEACH, Fla., Dec. 7 (UPI) -- Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne and its partners in the hypersonic X-51A WaveRider vehicle have been commended in the current issue of Popular Science.
The magazine called the Mach 6-capable vehicle "The Best of What's New in 2010."
"We're gratified by the recognition from this respected publication," said George Thum, X-51A program manager at Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne. "Our most recent test flight in late May achieved a number of scientific milestones and supports our belief that hypersonic flight will have important military, commercial and space travel applications where speed is critical."
Unlike a conventional jet engine, the company's scramjet has no moving parts. Airflow is supersonic throughout a scramjet as the vehicle's speed through the atmosphere creates compression that a conventional jet engine produces with a series of fans and stages.
In a test in May, the X-51A was released over the Air Force's Pacific Test Range by a B-52 flying at Mach 0.8 and 49,000 feet. A solid rocket motor ignited, boosting the WaveRider vehicle to approximately 60,000 feet and creating the airflow that the scramjet needs to operate. When the rocket motor jettisoned, the Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne SJY61 scramjet engine ignited and the X-51A accelerated and maintained stable, controlled flight.
The 210-second flight set a record for sustained air-breathing hypersonic flight with conventional hydrocarbon fuel, the company said. During the flight, data transmitted to the ground added to knowledge about the scramjet's performance and thermal protection and flight controls.
Supersonic refers to speeds above the speed of sound, or Mach 1, about 768 mph, while hypersonic speeds are greater than five times the speed of sound.
The X-51A program is a collaborative effort of the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Boeing and Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne.
