Guinness World Records Recognizes NASA Speed Record

Guinness World Records has recognized the world speed record set by NASA's hypersonic X-43A aircraft earlier this year in an experimental flight over the Pacific Ocean. Using a scramjet engine, the unpiloted, 12 foot-long aircraft achieved Mach 6.83 -- almost seven times the speed of sound -- or nearly 5,000 mph, in a March 27 flight.The accomplishment will be included in the 2006 Guinness World Records book, set for release this time next year, as follows:
"On 27 March 2004, NASA's unmanned Hyper-X (X-43A) airplane reached Mach 6.83, almost seven times the speed of sound. The X-43A was boosted to an altitude of 29,000 m (95,000 ft) by a Pegasus rocket launched from beneath a B52-B aircraft. The revolutionary 'scramjet' aircraft then burned its engine for around 11 seconds during flight over the Pacific Ocean."
If NASA researchers have their way, the record won't stand long. The final flight in the Hyper-X program is scheduled to take place in October, when another X-43A aircraft will attempt to fly at Mach 10 -- ten times the speed of sound -- or 7,200 mph.
The March 27 flight was part of NASA's Hyper-X program, designed to demonstrate advanced high-speed propulsion system concepts to overcome one of the greatest aeronautical research challenges -- air-breathing hypersonic flight. The advantage of air-breathing flight is that the vehicle, whether it is aircraft or spacecraft, scoops the air its engines need from the atmosphere rather than carrying heavy, bulky tanks, as rockets do.
The challenge is to introduce fuel, ignite it and produce positive thrust while highly compressed air rushes through the engine in mere milliseconds -- roughly analogous to lighting a match and keeping it burning in a hurricane-force wind.
Compared to rocket-powered vehicles like the Space Shuttle, scramjets promise more airplane-like operations for increased affordability, flexibility and safety in ultra high-speed flights within the atmosphere and into Earth orbit.
The X-43A flight easily set a world speed record for an air-breathing engine aircraft. The previous known record was held by a ramjet-powered missile, which achieved slightly more than Mach 5. A ramjet operates by subsonic combustion of fuel in a stream of air compressed by the forward speed of the aircraft itself, as opposed to a normal jet engine, in which the compressor section (the fan blades) compresses the air. A scramjet (supersonic-combustion ramjet) is a ramjet engine in which the airflow through the whole engine remains supersonic.
The highest speed attained by a rocket-powered airplane, NASA's X-15 aircraft, was Mach 6.7. The fastest air-breathing, manned vehicle, the SR-71, achieved slightly more than Mach 3. The X-43A more than doubled the top speed of the jet-powered SR-71.
Guinness World Records' science editor David Hawksett has already expressed an interest in attending the fall flight.
"Operating an atmospheric vehicle at almost Mach 7 is impressive enough, but to be able to use oxygen from the air, instead of a fuel tank, as it screams into the engine intakes at 5,000 mph is a mind-boggling technical achievement. It's wonderful to see scramjet technology finally begin to take off," said Hawksett.
The Hyper-X program is conducted by NASA's Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate with the NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, Va., as lead center with responsibility for hypersonic technology development and the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, Calif., responsible for flight research and testing.

NASA's X-43A Vehicle Ready For Flight

NASA has set Saturday, March 27 for the flight of the experimental X-43A research vehicle. The flight is part of the Hyper-X program, a research effort to demonstrate alternate propulsion technologies for access to space and high-speed flight within the atmosphere.The flight will provide unique free flight data about hypersonic (faster than Mach 5) air-breathing engine technologies that have large potential pay-offs. The unpiloted 12-foot-long vehicle, part aircraft and part spacecraft, will be dropped from a B-52,aircraft. It will be boosted to nearly 100,000 feet by a rocket and released over the Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division Sea Range over the Pacific Ocean off the coast of southern Calif. It will fly under its own power at approximately 5,000 mph.
The $250 million program began with conceptual design and scramjet engine wind tunnel work in 1996. This is the first time a non-rocket, air-breathing scramjet engine has powered a vehicle in flight at hypersonic speeds. No vehicle has ever flown at hypersonic speeds powered by an air-breathing scramjet engine.
In a scramjet (supersonic-combustion ramjet), the flow of air through the engine remains supersonic for optimum engine efficiency and vehicle speed. The rocket boost and subsequent separation from the rocket to get to the scramjet test condition have complex elements that must work properly for mission success. There are few or no moving parts. Achieving proper ignition and combustion, in a matter of milliseconds, proved to be an engineering challenge, but NASA is ready to prove air-breathing scramjets work.
After booster burnout, the 2,800-pound, wedge-shaped research vehicle will separate and fly on its own to perform a preprogrammed set of tasks. After an approximate 10 second test firing of the engine, the X-43A will glide through the atmosphere conducting a series of aerodynamic maneuvers for up to six minutes on its way to splashdown.
Researchers believe these technologies may someday offer more airplane-like operations and other benefits compared to traditional rocket systems. Rockets provide limited throttle control and must carry heavy tanks filled with liquid oxygen, necessary for combustion of fuel. An air breathing engine, like on the X-43A, scoops oxygen from the air as it flies. The weight savings could be used to increase payload capacity, increase range or reduce vehicle size for the same payload.
This is the second flight in the X-43A project. On June 2, 2001, the first X-43A vehicle was lost moments after release from the B-52. Following booster ignition, the vehicle deviated from its flight path and was deliberately destroyed. The mishap investigation concluded there was no single contributing factor, but the root cause of the problem was identified as the control system of the booster.
NASA's Langley Research Center, Hampton, Va., and Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, Calif., jointly conduct the Hyper-X program.

Faster Than A Speeding Bullet: Guinness Recognizes NASA Scramjet

NASA has been officially recognized for setting the speed record for a jet-powered aircraft by Guinness World RecordsNASA set the record in November during the third and final flight of the experimental X-43A scramjet (supersonic-combustion ramjet) project. The X-43A demonstrated an advanced form of air-breathing jet engine could power an aircraft nearly 10 times the speed of sound. Data from the unpiloted, 12-foot-long research vehicle show its revolutionary engine worked successfully at Mach 9.6 (approximately 7,000 mph), as it flew over the Pacific Ocean west of California.
The flight was the culmination of NASA's Hyper-X Program. Hyper-X, a seven-year, approximately $230 million ground and flight test program, explored alternatives to rocket power for space access vehicles.
This is the second world speed record earned by the Hyper-X Program. The first followed a Mach 6.8 (approximately 5,000 mph) flight in March 2004. Both records will be featured in the 2006 edition of the Guinness World Records book published in September 2005. The fastest air-breathing, manned vehicle, the SR-71, achieved slightly more than Mach 3.2. The X-43A more than tripled the top speed of the jet-powered SR-71.
NASA is interested in supersonic combustion scramjet technology, because the engines get their oxygen from the atmosphere. That allows for more airplane-like operations for increased affordability, flexibility and safety in ultra-high-speed flights and for the first stage to Earth orbit. Once a scramjet-powered vehicle is accelerated to approximately Mach 4 by a conventional jet engine or booster rocket, it can fly at hypersonic speeds, possibly as fast as Mach 15, without carrying heavy oxidizer, as rockets must.
A ramjet operates by subsonic combustion of fuel in a stream of air compressed by the forward speed of the aircraft. In a regular jet engine, fan blades compress the air. In a scramjet, the airflow through the whole engine remains supersonic.
The Guinness World Record certificate:
"On 16 November, 2004, NASA's unmanned Hyper-X (X-43A) aircraft reached Mach 9.6. The X-43A was boosted to an altitude of 33,223 meters (109,000 feet) by a Pegasus rocket launched from beneath a B52-B jet aircraft. The revolutionary 'scramjet' aircraft then burned its engine for around 10 seconds during its flight over the Pacific Ocean."
Related flight records:
The previous record for an air-breathing vehicle, but not an airplane, was held by a ramjet-powered missile, which achieved slightly more than Mach 5. The highest speed attained by a rocket-powered airplane, NASA's X-15, was Mach 6.7.
The Hyper-X program was conducted by NASA's Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate with the agency's Langley Research Center, Hampton, Va. Langley was lead NASA center with responsibility for hypersonic technology development. The NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, Calif., is responsible for flight research and testing.

Supersonic Jousting Combats Shockwaves

Early fighter pilots were sometimes called knights of the air, a reflection of medieval times when knights used blunted lances in jousting tournaments to dismount competitors from their horses.Now, jet-borne jousting is combating supersonic shockwaves, hopefully enough to lessen the resulting sonic boom heard on the ground.
Gulfstream Aerospace and NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center have teamed in a project called Quiet Spike to investigate the suppression of sonic booms.
The project centers around a retractable, 24-foot-long lance-like spike mounted on the nose of NASA Dryden's F-15B research testbed aircraft. The spike, made of composite materials, creates three small shock waves that travel parallel to each other all the way to the ground, producing less noise than typical shock waves that build up at the front of supersonic jets.
Before flying with the giant spike, NASA Dryden engineers and technicians, working alongside their Gulfstream counterparts, mounted it on the aircraft and conducted various structural tests on the ground.
"The partnership between Gulfstream and Dryden during Quiet Spike installation and ground testing on the F-15B has produced a wealth of valuable information. The duration of this flight test effort will prove to be exciting and informative for everyone involved," said Leslie Molzahn, NASA Dryden's operations engineer on the project.
Since the project's first flight, conducted on Aug. 10, 2006, several more flights have put the system's structural integrity to the test before moving on to sonic boom suppression measurements. While these tests won't actually 'quiet' the F-15's sonic boom, they will show that the spike's design is capable of use in a real flight environment. The flights are monitored in NASA Dryden's mission control.
NASA's F-15B research testbed aircraft in flight with "Working with Gulfstream has provided a significant advantage to this flight research project," NASA project manager Michael Toberman says. "This project merges Gulfstream's manufacturing expertise with NASA Dryden's flight test expertise."
Shockwaves develop around aircraft as they near Mach 1, or about 760 mph, the speed of sound at sea level. When an aircraft travels supersonically, the resulting shockwaves can produce a loud sonic boom that rattles windows and nerves on the ground under the path of the supersonic jet.
Because of sonic boom intensity, the Federal Aviation Administration prohibits supersonic flight over land, except in special military flight corridors.
Gulfstream's Quiet Spike puts spike-induced sonic boom suppression theory to the test in the actual flight environment afforded by NASA's supersonic F-15B. The aircraft has served NASA and industry in this role for years as a flying wind tunnel and supersonic testbed vehicle.
Once the Quiet Spike has proven to be structurally sound, it can be incorporated with confidence onto advanced low-boom configuration aircraft to further lessen the impact of sonic booms.
"By changing length in-flight, Quiet Spike will demonstrate yet another way to shape the sonic boom," said Gulfstream spokesman Robert Baugniet. "It's a necessary step toward low boom aircraft design and truly quieting the sonic boom."
In 2003 and 2004, NASA Dryden worked with DARPA and Northrop Grumman on the Shaped Sonic Boom Demonstration project, which flew a highly modified F-5 aircraft to prove that aircraft shaping can reduce sonic boom intensity.

Skyray 48 Takes Flight

Calm excitement filled the ground control station. Engineers stared intently at their computer screens as the pilot, sitting next to them, flexed his fingers on the controls. Ground crew tending the aircraft finished putting away their equipment. Preparations for the first flight of the unmanned X-48B Blended Wing Body research aircraft were complete. Years of research, design, construction, wind tunnel and ground tests coalesced into this one moment of time.
Radios crackled. "Tower, Skyray 48 in position, lakebed runway 23, request clearance for takeoff..."
"Skyray 48 roger, main base winds 220 at 6, report airborne, lakebed 23..."
"Wilco"
"Five, four, three, two, one, brakes..."
Quickly, the manta ray-shaped aircraft rolled down the dry lakebed runway trailing a plume of dust as it picked up speed, its three small jet engines whining.
With an excitement that only comes with an aircraft's first flight, the triangular red, white and blue X-48B leapt into the air, obviously wanting to fly.
"Skyray 48's airborne," Boeing pilot Norm Howell called, matter-of-factly. And with that, years of toil blossomed into the sweet fruit of success on July 20, 2007 at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center on Edwards AFB, Calif.
One of the latest cutting-edge experimental aircraft, or X-Planes, the X-48B BWB is a collaborative effort of the Boeing Co., NASA's Fundamental Aeronautics Program, and the Air Force Research Laboratory. The 21-foot wingspan, 500-pound, remotely piloted plane is designed to demonstrate the viability of the blended wing shape. And demonstrate it has.
After completion of six flights, the X-48B team began a four-week maintenance and modification period during which removable leading edges with extended slats are being replaced with slatless leading edges in order to mimic a slats-retracted configuration. The change requires a software update to the flight control software. In addition, the team is removing and replacing all of the aircraft's flight control actuators for maintenance purposes.
NASA is interested in the potential benefits of the aircraft - increased volume for carrying capacity, efficient aerodynamics for reduced fuel burn, and, possibly, significant reductions in noise due to propulsion integration options. In these initial flights, the principal focus is to validate prior research on the aerodynamic performance and controllability of the shape, including comparisons of flight test data with the extensive database gathered in the wind tunnels at NASA's Langley Research Center in Virginia.
The Subsonic Fixed-Wing Project, part of NASA's Fundamental Aeronautics Program, has long supported the development of the blended wing body concept. It has participated in numerous collaborations with Boeing, as well as several wind tunnel tests for different speed regimes. The team is focused on researching the low-speed characteristics of the design and expanding its flight envelope beyond the limits of current capabilities.
In addition to hosting the X-48B flight test and research activities, NASA Dryden is providing engineering and technical support -- expertise garnered from years of operating cutting-edge air vehicles. NASA assists with the hardware and software validation and verification process, the integration and testing of the aircraft systems, and the pilot's ground control station. NASA's range group provides critical telemetry and command and control communications during the flight, while the flight operations group provides a T-34 chase aircraft and essential flight scheduling. Photo and video support complete the effort.
The composite-skinned, 8.5 percent scale vehicle can to fly up to 10,000 feet and 120 knots in its low-speed configuration. The aircraft is flown remotely from a ground control station by a pilot using conventional aircraft controls and instrumentation, while looking at a monitor fed by a forward-looking camera on the aircraft.
Up to 25 flights are planned to gather data in these low-speed flight regimes. Then, the X-48B may be used to test the aircraft's low-noise and handling characteristics at transonic speeds.
Two X-48B research vehicles were built by Cranfield Aerospace Ltd., in England, in accordance with Boeing specifications. The vehicle that flew on July 20, known as Ship 2, was also used for ground and taxi testing. Ship 1, a duplicate, was used for the wind tunnel tests. Ship 1 is available for use as a backup during the flight test program.
So far, so good as the Skyray 48 team works through the late summer heat of the Mojave Desert as they continue blazing a trail with this futuristic aircraft design.

NASA Flying Wing Model Soars In Historic Wind Tunnel

Ask anyone what an airplane looks like and most will tell you a tube with wings. NASA researchers are trying to expand that image. They're testing a design for a flying wing, called a blended wing body.Technicians have installed a five-percent scale model of a blended wing body in the Langley Full-Scale Tunnel at NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va. During tests in the tunnel's huge 30X60 foot test section, pilots "flew" the 12-foot wingspan, 80-pound model. It stayed aloft in the tunnel's wind stream constrained only by a tether cable. The flying wing is the biggest model ever free flight tested in the Full Scale Tunnel.
"We want to understand the edge of the envelope flight characteristics of the blended wing body," said Dan Vicroy, blended wing body flight dynamics principal investigator. "We're comfortable with the flight characteristics of conventional tube with wings airplanes, but we don't have much experience with flying wings."
NASA is working with Boeing Phantom Works, Long Beach, Calif., on this advanced, more fuel-efficient and environmentally friendly airplane concept. Researchers say a blended wing body could be useful as a multi-role aircraft for the military, including functioning as a tanker, cargo or transport plane.
Much testing needs to be done before the flying wing could be safely introduced as a transport aircraft. The blended wing body doesn't have a conventional airplane tail, used to control pitch (up and down) and yaw (side to side) motions. Instead it uses a combination of control surfaces on the trailing edge of the wing to maneuver the airplane. The free flight tests will help assess the best combination of control surfaces and limits.
Other questions also need to be answered about the blended wing body configuration. "One question is how do you build a lightweight structure that can be pressurized," Vicroy said. "It's easy to pressurize a tube, but not as easy to pressurize a non-cylindrical shape."
Even building the blended wing body model was a challenge. For this test the model had to be dynamically scaled. It had to have the same scaled shape as the real plane, same scaled weight and inertia characteristics of roll, pitch and yaw. The model had to be light for its size. It was built from graphite composite material similar to a Formula 1 racecar.
Owned by Langley and operated by Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Va. The Tunnel was completed in 1931. It has tested World War II fighters, submarines, the Mercury space capsules, supersonic transport concepts and the flying wing.
The research is part of the Fundamental Aeronautics Program in NASA's Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate. The program's goal is to advance breakthrough aerospace technologies.
Video of testing is available on the NASA TV Videofile. For continental North America, NASA TV is carried on an MPEG-2 digital signal accessed via satellite AMC-6, at 72 degrees west longitude, transponder 17C, 4040 MHz, vertical polarization. It's available in Alaska and Hawaii on an MPEG-2 digital signal accessed via satellite AMC-7, transponder 18C, 137 degrees west longitude, 4060 MHz, vertical polarization. A Digital Video Broadcast compliant Integrated Receiver Decoder is required for reception. For information about NASA TV

Bird Sized Airplane To Fly Like A Swift

Nine Dutch Aerospace Engineering students at the Delft University of Technology, together with the Department of Experimental Zoology of Wageningen University, designed the RoboSwift. RoboSwift is a micro airplane fitted with shape shifting wings, inspired by the common swift, one of nature's most efficient flyers.

Wing Morphing Of The Swift Could Inspire New Aircraft Designs

A swift adapts the shape of its wings to the immediate task at hand: folding them back to chase insects, or stretching them out to sleep in flight. Ten Dutch and Swedish scientists, based in Wageningen, Groningen, Delft, Leiden, and Lund, have shown how 'wing morphing' makes swifts such versatile flyers. Their study, published as cover story in Nature on April 26, proves that swifts can improve flight performance by up to three-fold, numbers that make 'wing morphing' the next big thing in aircraft engineering.

Shape of the future

There's a great expression that applies very well to events this week: "The future is now."
Or better yet, the shape of the future is a beautiful, iconic airplane called the 747. With the fabulous endorsement from Lufthansa of the 747-8 Intercontinental, clearly passengers are going to be flying in this amazing machine for many years to come.

Lufthansa is the first airline to place an order for the 747-8 Intercontinental.
I, for one, never gave up on the 747. There was a time not too long ago when the media was writing the epitaph for the Queen of the Skies. Some have even been quoted this week as saying the 747 is on its "last legs." But does an airplane that has had 73 orders since its launch just over a year ago sound like it's on its last legs?
I'm reminded of what Joe Sutter told me earlier this year, when he pointed out that there have been lots of airplanes designed after the 747, but none have been able to fly faster or adapt better over the years. As Joe put it: "It's been able to absorb technology in every area - structure, aerodynamics, power plant, cockpit systems. It's just as modern as any airplane flying out there because Boeing has continued to invest in the product, and the basic product was right, so the investment pays off."
And the fact is, with the breakthrough engines from the 787 Dreamliner, an aerodynamically advanced wing with newly designed raked wingtips, an upgraded flight deck, and a longer passenger cabin that's completely redesigned based on the 787 interior, this is going to be a great airplane, and will be the most efficient large airplane out there, on a per seat basis.
A few words about the Lufthansa order. You couldn't ask for a better launch customer for the passenger model of the 747-8. Beginning in 2010, they'll take delivery of 20 747-8 Intercontinentals.