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NASA on March 27, 2003 launched the unpiloted X-43A research
vehicle, in the first ever successful test of a supersonic-combustion ramjet
(scramjet) engine. The 12-foot long vehicle was attached to a Pegasus Booster
that was dropped from NASA's B-52 aircraft over the Pacific, rocketed to 100,000
feet, and separated for its autonomous flight and engine test at Mach 7.
 The
successful acceleration of the vehicle by the hydrogen powered scramjet engine
set a new world airbreathing aircraft speed record and achieved the long-sought
goal of hypersonic airbreathing propulsion - which is hoped to allow inexpensive
reusable access to space, and technology for the next generation of high-speed
commercial transports. The X-43A vehicle, achieving every milestone of the
flight, then performed preplanned hypersonic maneuvers to gather aerodynamic
data before gliding, as planned, into the Pacific about 500 miles west of
Los Angeles.
ZelTech has provided a variety of aerospace systems engineering
support to the program for over four years at NASA's Dryden Flight Research
Center located on Edwards Air Force Base in California. We will continue to
support future developments and flight tests of this critical national asset
as the next flight attempts to achieve Mach 10.
For more information about Zel Technologies, please contact
us as follows:
Zel Technologies LLC (ZelTech)
Attention: Corporate Affairs
54 Old Hampton Lane
Hampton, VA 23669
Telephone: (757) 722-5565
Fax: (757) 722-8516
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