Check this out!! X-51 Gearing up for First Flight!! History to be made!!

[billpage]

cool

[Masterofmind999]

As I have seen with my own eyes, They made this at Area 51. hmm...try google earth @ 2009. then you can see some of these things.

[souro19]

NEVER TRY TO CHALLENGE WITH RUSSIA !

THEY USED HYPERSONIC TECHNOLOGY FROM COLD WAR !

[3rdID8487]

Well they are making the second flight now! Read about on the Facebook page at "Military Videos".

“We are proud of the first flight results, and at the same time we understand the inherent risk in a high-technology demonstrator like the X-51A. We can’t wait to get this second vehicle in the air and show what we can do,” said Curtis Berger, Director, Hypersonics Programs, Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, which built the X-51A’s fuel-cooled supersonic combustion ramjet, or scramjet engine.

[conspiracyquality]

That's gonna be one hell of a cruise missile.

[3rdID8487]

@conspiracyquality See the above article..in my comments

[buschbeer100]

Guess what China is going to try and steal next.

[cjellwood]

stiff guy at 1:56 ?

[viciousCB88]

Mach 6+! Pretty awesome!

[born200200]

What is the big deal about this? The SpaceShip 1 has already done few years back.

[t5239857289578947594]

@born200200 Oh I didn't know SpaceShip 1 went over mach 5.LOL

[psyclistic]

I'm guessing you'd use the scramjet as a booster stage, maybe as strap-on boosters, but then you'd probably have some issues with flow since the engines would fall inside the oblique shock of the rocket's tip. I guess a piggyback design might work the best, with the second (and possibly third) stages sitting on top of the scramjet booster. Any in-the-know thoughts on this?

[psyclistic]

This is really interesting and exciting. I look forward to seeing designs of potential space vehicles that would utilize this technology because I'm curious just how good it would be for LV applications.

In a typical LV, you would have all but the very top of the rocket drop away, keeping you from having to carry dead structural weight into space. While saving on mass for the oxidizer, I'm betting you'd have significantly increased structural mass compared to conventional tube rockets cont...

[carldepp]

b'careful china might copy this technology.

[nomobao]

American human's future

[SonicYouthXXX]

Definetly kool.

[3rdID8487]

@SonicYouthXXX I want to see this thing go, can you just imagine standing ont he ground and having it pass overhead. You would not be able to follow it with your eyes it would be moving so fast! 5969 feet per second. Thats faster (way faster) than a bullet fired out of a rifle!! A M-16 round (.223 travels at about 2500 feet per second). This flight vehicle will be more than twice that fast!! OUTSTANDING!!! I want to fly one, but it would probably kill me... ;0

[SirWinstonChurchill]

@3rdID8487

Escape velocity is the key... We could go to the moon (and perhaps other planets) much easier if this is successful by building and equipping large spacecraft in orbit instead of having to launch such a mission from the ground in just one shot.

[3rdID8487]

@SirWinstonChurchill only one problem, this scramjet requires air to work. It would not work in space.

[SirWinstonChurchill]

@3rdID8487

But it could be used to deliver spacecraft into orbit.

[Etern4lSlay3r]

@3rdID8487 HERR HERR WUT ARE SPACE SHUTTLES AND ISS DOING IN SPACE DENNN HERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

[3rdID8487]

@Etern4lSlay3r They use rockets and provide thier own O2...... Herr herr WUT HERrrrrrrrrrrrrrRRRrr learn a little science...herrr r duhhhhhhh

[Helge129]

@3rdID8487 what would work however, is using a combination of jet engines, scramjets and ultimately rocket engines.

[OsanBlackCat5RS]

@3rdID8487 another problem,it isnt manned,i am one of many men who want to go to these places but they keep doing everything with UAV's its really hard to earn man points if the MIT weenees keep running everything like this,those guys who flew the X-15 and planes like it have balls! MANNED FLIGHT FOREVER!

[Helge129]

@3rdID8487 You can however mount a Scramjet on a spacecraft, and catapult it to escape or at least orbital velocity using that Scramjet.

[psyclistic]

@3rdID8487 Have you ever watched a satellite pass overhead? Satellites travel much faster than the X-51, and you can follow them with your eyes just fine. Granted, the X-51 will be traveling at a lower altitude than satellites, but you will still be able to follow it with your eyes.