Air Force X-51A Waverider: faster than Superman

[frigidmagi]

CSM

[quote]Wednesday’s flight of the Air Force X-51A Waverider was certainly impressive. The X-51A – a Dustbuster-shaped air vehicle dropped from a B-52 bomber – used scramjet power to accelerate beyond a screaming-fast Mach 5 (five times the speed of sound).

That means Waverider went hypersonic. Its 200-second scramjet burn was the longest ever for that technology. Producing thrust from a scramjet (or supersonic combustion ramjet, if you prefer) is technically so challenging that it has been compared to lighting a match in a hurricane – and keeping it burning.

Well, great. But what’s the X-51A for?

The first mission for its technology likely would be use in a weapon. The X-51A could morph into a hypersonic cruise missile by as soon as 2015. That would provide the Air Force a long-sought Prompt Global Strike capability, defined as the ability to target any spot on earth with a conventional warhead within 60 minutes.

A new space vehicle?

Scramjets also hold promise for vehicles capable of taking off like aircraft and then flying into space. This could revolutionize US launch capabilities by 2025.

Unlike rockets, ramjets burn fuel mixed with oxygen from the atmosphere. They aren’t burdened with carrying their own combustion-feeding oxidizers. Unlike jet engines, air rams through their combustion chambers at supersonic speeds. That allows them to operate efficiently at much higher speeds.

That’s the theory, anyway. Scientists have tinkered with the technology for years. Air Force officials noted that Wednesday’s scramjet burn, at 200 seconds, did not go as long as they had planned. An “anomalyâ€

[Batman]

Make these things move high fractional c and I'll begin contemplating the 'Faster than Superman' aspect
And while this IS impressive and would definitely massively up the US forces reaction speed (nevermind the civilian applications, as you pointed out) I think it's a long way from removing the need for overseas bases. 'The ability to target any spot on earth with a conventional warhead within 60 minutes' from continental US bases would require about Mach 15 or so AND a range of about 15,000 kilometres or more if I did my math right.
And until and unless the US either extends this kind of deployment capability to ALL of its military assets (ie hypersonic transports with that kind of range) or gives up on pretty much being able to deploy forces (however insufficient to the job they're supposed to do) pretty much anywhere they want, you'll always need forward bases.

[rhoenix]

This...this makes me happy.

This is the beginning of the end of needing "booster rockets" to get things into space.

This is the beginning of the end of slower (and relatively expensive) air travel.

I am excited about this.

[frigidmagi]

I said a step towards Bat, not final piece of the puzzle.

[Derek Thunder]

With this sort of speed, we can take out wedding parties before the cake is even fully cut. Surely no one will resist us now.

[Batman]

I said a step towards Bat, not final piece of the puzzle.

Just as long as you know it's a very SMALL step that may very well lead nowhere close to that.