How much does the X-43A cost?
The X-43A will then become a glider and perform maneuvers until it splashes down into the ocean. That will be the end of the X-43A project, which has cost more than $230 million and has no immediate follow-on program.
How fast is the X-43A?
7,366 mph
NASA X-43/Top speed
What’s the fastest scramjet?
Guinness World Records recognized NASA’s X-43A scramjet with a new world speed record for a jet-powered aircraft – Mach 9.6, or nearly 7,000 mph. The X-43A set the new mark and broke its own world record on its third and final flight on Nov. 16, 2004.
What is NASA’s fastest aircraft?
X-43
The X-43 is the fastest jet-powered aircraft on record at approximately Mach 9.6. A winged booster rocket with the X-43 placed on top, called a “stack”, was drop launched from a Boeing B-52 Stratofortress.
How did the X-43A get to space?
The X-43A was mounted to a Pegasus booster rocket that was attached to the underside of one of the B-52B’s wings. Once the B-52B had reached the proper height, it released the Pegasus rocket, which boosted the Hyper-X near to its test speed over the Pacific Ocean.
What kind of engine does the X-43A use?
The X-43A is powered by a supersonic combustion ramjet engine (scramjet) developed by ATK, which uses gaseous hydrogen fuel. Scramjet engines provide design advantages in smaller size, simplicity and affordability of reusable vehicles.
What kind of material is the X-43 made out of?
The X-43A is constructed with a tile-based thermal protection system developed by Boeing, carbon-carbon composites and high-temperature resistant metals. The materials were selected to withstand the exceptionally high temperatures and forces on the airframe resulting from the very strong shock waves that are generated in hypersonic flight.
What was the original speed of the X-43?
The first two X-43A aircraft were intended for flight at approximately Mach 7, while the third was designed to operate at speeds greater than Mach 9.8 (10,655.3 km/h; 6,620.9 mph) at altitudes of 30,000 m (98,000 ft) or more.