No speed record as scramjet test fails

Another test launch, scheduled for next week, may be postponed

By Andrew Demaria
CNN Hong Kong

WOOMERA, Australia (CNN) -- The test flight of a revolutionary scramjet rocket engine has failed, but scientists are upbeat over their efforts to achieve the world's fastest combustion flight.

If the test had proved successful, the scramjet would have been the fastest air-breathing engine ever built, breaking the current record held by a Lockheed SR-71 spy plane with a top speed of Mach 3.6.

A HyShot supersonic combustion ramjet (scramjet), capable of flying more than seven times the speed of sound, was launched on the back of two rockets at a Woomera testing area about 500 km (310 miles) north of the South Australian capital Adelaide.

The research team -- an international group of scientists led by the University of Queensland -- said they had recovered valuable data from the rocket launch which will be used in future tests.

Project leader Dr Allan Paull said he was pleased the scramjet was able to survive the journey until it returned to earth.

"Although we didn't achieve all that we set out to achieve, we succeeded in gathering valuable data, and we're encouraged by the fact the payload survived one hell of a wild ride," Paull said.

The scientists are investigating what they said were "anomalies" in the rocket's flight just before the scramjet experiment which caused the test to fail.

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The scramjet propulsion system uses different technology to jet engines and traditional rockets and has no moving parts

Rather than carrying both fuel -- for example liquid hydrogen -- and oxygen to ignite, the scramjet carries only fuel and therefore has the potential to halve the overall weight and increase the efficiency of the rocket or aircraft.

However, it relies on oxygen in the atmosphere. To get the oxygen to ignite the fuel, it needs to take in the oxygen at extremely high speeds in its combustion chamber.

The HyShot scramjet is designed to combust at Mach 7.6, nearly eight times the speed of sound. The speed of sound is about 1,200 km (750 miles) per hour.

The launch was designed to carry the scramjet to a height of 300 km (186 miles) before the rocket's nose cone was to be thrown off.

The 1.6 meter (5.3 foot) scramjet would then fall to earth, gaining speed as it fell with scientists predicting that it would reach Mach 7.6 about 37 km (23 miles) above the ground.

Instruments on the HyShot were transmitting data, which the scientists have been analyzing.

World first

Scientists say anomalies in the rocket's flight caused the test to fail

The technology could one day be used to dramatically reduce flying time, cutting a London to Sydney flight to two hours.

But experts say the major commercial attraction will be providing cheaper satellite launches.

Scientists have been working with scramjet technology for years but the only successful testing occurred earlier this year when the U.S. military's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency fired a scramjet from a gun.

The model scramjet engine flew under its own power for a fraction of a second, the agency said.

A Nasa test in June failed when the missile carrying the scramjet went off course.

By comparison, the engine tested at Woomera has been a low-finance project, costing only A$1.5 million ($750,000).

The HyShot international consortium had planned to test launch another scramjet next week, but that is now subject to the satisfactory investigation of Tuesday's launch.