NASA Sets Speed Record for Jet Aircraft

EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE — NASA’s experimental scramjet airplane set an unofficial world speed record for jet aircraft this afternoon, reaching nearly Mach 10, or about 7,000 mph, in a test flight over Southern California.

The 12-foot-long, unmanned X-43A flashed across a sky etched with wispy clouds at about 110,000 feet before splashing into the Pacific Ocean about 850 miles off the Southern California coast.

The 10-second test flight was part of a $230-million project aimed at showing the capabilities of a new breed of jet aircraft that could conceivably speed passengers across the country in minutes and send passengers into space far more cheaply than today.

The scramjet technology used in the aircraft compresses air and ignites it in a hydrogen-rich environment. Scientists have speculated that scramjets are capable of reaching speeds of Mach 15.