Tuesday, September 18, 2012
X-51A Waverider: Experimental Speed to the Extreme
The X-51A is an experimental aircraft developed by the US
Air Force in conjunction with several defense contractors to fly at multi-sonic
speed.
Designed to ride it’s own shockwave, the X-51A boasts an
estimated top speed of more than 4,600mph! That’s over six times the speed of
sound, and roughly 4 times faster than state-of-the-art attack jets in service
today.
It is powered by a Pratt Whitney Rocketdyne SJY61 scramjet
engine which, along with JP-7 fuel, is designed to utilize the oxygen in the
atmosphere to fuel the engine while in flight eliminating the need for large fuel tanks.
On August 15 of this year, the unmanned experimental
aircraft had it’s third test flight, but a failure in the avionics,
specifically a directional fin caused the aircraft to go out of control shortly
after launch from a B-52, sending it into the sea, destroying it before it
could fire off it’s scramjet engine. It was the third of four prototypes and it's not clear when or if the last one will fly. 
In previous tests, the Waverider flew successfully for more
than 140 seconds, attaining a speed approaching mach 5 or almost 4000 mph
setting records and making history.
¶ 12:21 PM
