Successful test flight of the hypersonic vehicle in Woomera, South Australia
Credit: Australian Department of Defence
SYDNEY: Next-generation aircraft with the potential to dramatically reduce inter-continental travel times are now one step closer after the successful hypersonic flight trials conducted by Australian and U.S. scientists.
The trial was the first of up to 10 tests to be conducted at the Woomera desert range as part of a joint U.S.-Australian military research operation, said Defence Science Minister Warren Snowdon.
The program, called Hypersonic International Flight Research Experimentation (HIFiRE), is investigating hypersonics technology and its potential for next generation aeronautics. Travelling at more than five times the speed of sound, the test craft successfully tested the flight and mission control systems that would be used in future experiments.
The test vehicle was carried into space aboard a rocket launched from Woomera - a rocket range in the central deserts of Australia - and then dived back into the atmosphere to test the hypersonic flight technology.
"Wealth of new data"
Nitrogen gas valves were used as thrusters to manoeuvre the craft in space and correctly position it for reentry into the atmosphere, offering scientists a "wealth of new data," said Warren Snowdon, Australia's Minister for Defence Science.
"This trial has ... demonstrated that hypersonic flight could become a reality in the not too distant future, offering immense economic and strategic benefits for Australia," he added.
Hypersonic technology offered giant leaps in speed and fuel efficiency and had the potential to dramatically reduce intercontinental travel times, said Snowdon.
During trials of similar technology in 2007, the defence department said travelling time from Sydney to London could be cut to as little as two hours for the 17,000-kilometre flight.
