Mon, May 23, 2016
Rocket Successfully Flown At Woomera Test Range In Australia
An experimental rocket launched at the Woomera Test Range in Australia as part of the joint research program, HIFiRE (Hypersonic International Flight Research Experimentation Program) this week reached an apogee of 91,000 feet (278 km) and achieved the targeted speed of Mach 7.5 (seven and a half times the speed of sound).
Australian Chief Defense Scientist Dr. Alex Zelinsky passed along congratulations to the Australian-United States team on the success of an experimental hypersonic flight. “The success of this test launch takes us one step closer to the realization of hypersonic flight,” Dr. Zelinsky said.
The experimental flight was conducted by the Defense Science and Technology Group and the US Air Force Research Laboratory with Boeing and the University of Queensland providing expert technical design and analysis.
Hypersonic flight, involving speeds of more than five times the speed of sound, has the potential to provide immense social and economic benefits.
“It is a game-changing technology identified in the 2016 Defence White Paper and could revolutionise global air travel, providing cost-effective access to space,” Dr. Zelinsky said.
The program is aimed at exploring the fundamental technologies critical to the realisation of sustained hypersonic flight. Boeing’s chief scientist for hypersonics Kevin Bowcutt said the HIFiRE program will accelerate the development of operational hypersonic systems by producing valuable scientific flight data.
Professor Michael Smart from the University of Queensland praised the highly skilled individuals involved in the program and said they were placing the Australian aerospace industry on the international stage.
The HIFiRE team has already achieved some significant milestones such as the design, assembly and pre-flight testing of the hypersonic vehicles and the design of complex avionics and flight systems. More test flights are scheduled in the next two years.
(Image provided with Australia MoD news release)
More News
Aero Linx: JAARS Nearly 1.5 billion people, using more than 5,500 languages, do not have a full Bible in their first language. Many of these people live in the most remote parts of>[...]
'Airplane Bounced Twice On The Grass Runway, Resulting In The Nose Wheel Separating From The Airplane...' Analysis: The pilot reported, “upon touchdown, the plane jumped back>[...]
"Burt is best known to the public for his historic designs of SpaceShipOne, Voyager, and GlobalFlyer, but for EAA members and aviation aficionados, his unique concepts began more t>[...]
"Polaris Dawn, the first of the program’s three human spaceflight missions, is targeted to launch to orbit no earlier than summer 2024. During the five-day mission, the crew >[...]
There Are SO Many Ways To Get YOUR Aero-News! It’s been a while since we have reminded everyone about all the ways we offer your daily dose of aviation news on-the-go...so he>[...]
ANN's Daily Aero-Linx (05.04.24)
See All