NASA took a major step toward redefining high-speed flight on Nov. 16, 2004. The X-43A, a small, experimental aircraft, proved that an engine drawing oxygen from the atmosphere could propel an aircraft to hypersonic speeds – greater than Mach 5, or five times the speed of sound. During the flight over the Pacific Ocean west of California, the X-43A set the world speed record for a jet-powered aircraft, reaching Mach 9.6, or nearly 7,000 mph. The mission originated from NASA’s Armstrong Flight Re

It's the 20th anniversary of the X-43A record speed flight! ⭐ NASA’s X-43A experimental aircraft set the world speed record for a jet-powered aircraft 20 years ago on Nov. 16, 2004. The flight originated from NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. The B-52B carried a Pegasus rocket under its wing, and the X-43A was attached to the rocket’s nose. Once in position over the Pacific Ocean, the rocket air-launched and its engine fired, and once in position, the X-43A’s engine

The X-43A was a small, unmanned test aircraft built by NASA with one goal: to achieve incredible speed. Part of the Hyper-X program, it aimed to prove that a scramjet could operate in real flight, not just inside a wind tunnel. Rather than launching from a runway, the X-43A was carried to high altitude by a B-52, then boosted by a Pegasus rocket to several thousand miles per hour. Only after the booster separated did its scramjet engine ignite. Unlike conventional rockets, the scramjet didn’t ca

This rare footage shows NASA testing the X-43A, an experimental hypersonic aircraft built to explore extreme-speed flight. Because scramjet engines cannot start from rest, the vehicle was carried under a B-52, boosted to hypersonic speed by a rocket, and only then ignited its own engine. | SpaceEve

NASA and Lockheed Martin have reinvented aviation with the X-59 low-boom supersonic aircraft. And when it flies, they're hoping you won't even notice it. | CNET