WASHINGTON, Sept. 22 (UPI) -- The U.S. space agency and U.S. Air Force say they are looking for university and industry partners to help advance hypersonic research.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate in Washington and the Air Force Research Laboratory's Office of Science Research at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio, said they intend to establish three national hypersonic science centers.
Hypersonic speed is defined as Mach 5, which is 3,800 miles an hour -- five times the speed of sound.
NASA and the Air Force said they plan to set aside as much as $30 million to fund the centers for five years. The maximum grant will be approximately $2 million a year. The jointly funded program will support university-level basic science or engineering research that provides improved understanding of hypersonic flight.
"We have identified three critical research areas: air-breathing propulsion, materials and structures and boundary layer control," said James Pittman, principal investigator for NASA's hypersonics project. "These three areas are the biggest hurdles to successful hypersonic flight and low-cost space access using an air-breathing engine."
