Mach Six.

[4scourge7]

Lumme!

That`s a bit on the nippy side.

http://www.product-reviews.net/2010/05/27/...e-test-results/

Cheers, Ian

[Rick in Maine]

I read the news elsewhere about this flight and just went on. Then I thought about it...Mach 6. Even for only a few seconds. Wow!

It's not manned, it's not a front line fighter, it looks rather blah. But the performance staggers me, too.

Rick in Maine

[Jay Chladek]

"Boy, is this a machine!" Mitchell Gant (Firefox)

That is pretty cool though. If somebody can develop a decent SCRAM jet, then that potentially opens the way for hypesonic travel and maybe single stage to orbit spacecraft.

[toadwbg]

If somebody can develop a decent SCRAM jet, then that potentially opens the way for hypesonic travel and maybe single stage to orbit spacecraft.

right on

[Kei Lau]

I read the news elsewhere about this flight and just went on. Then I thought about it...Mach 6. Even for only a few seconds. Wow!

It's not manned, it's not a front line fighter, it looks rather blah. But the performance staggers me, too.

Rick in Maine

The X-51A flight lasted 200 seconds only, not the originally designed 300 second. It reached above Mach 5, but not quite Mach 6 this time. The X-51 team is estatic about the 200 seconds record. The previous record was held by the X-43A at 12 seconds. There are 3 more X-51 flight planned. The AFRL program office is very optimistic about the total results.

The taxi-takeoff video gives a perspective of the X-51A scale.

The official launch video:

Edited May 28, 2010 by Kei Lau