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Fast Flight
Boeing X-51A WaveRider breaks record in first flight
The Boeing X-51A WaveRider has successfully completed the longest supersonic combustion ramjet-powered flight—nearly three and a half minutes at a top speed of Mach 5.
The unmanned aerial vehicle was released from a US Air Force B-52H bomber off the southern California coast on May 27. It flew autonomously for more than 200 seconds, powered by Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne supersonic combustion ramjet (scramjet) motor, as it transmitted telemetry data to ground stations.
The X-51A was carried aloft under the left wing of an Air Force Flight Test Centre B-52H Stratofortress that took off from Edwards Air Force Base. It was released while flying at approximately 50,000 ft over the Point Mugu Naval Air Warfare Centre Sea Range. Four seconds later, a solid rocket booster from a US Army tactical missile accelerated the X-51A to about Mach 4.5 before it and a connecting interstage were jettisoned. The X-51A’s engine ignited on a mix of ethylene and JP-7 jet fuel. After a short period, the X-51A ran exclusively on JP-7 jet fuel. The flight reached an altitude of about 70,000 ft and an approximate speed of Mach 5.
Onboard sensors transmitted data to both an airborne US Navy P-3 Orion and to ground systems at Point Mugu, Edwards, and Vandenberg Air Force Base before the X-51A flight was terminated. The team will review the data from the test before scheduling additional flights with the three remaining test vehicles.
According to a company official, it is a new world record and sets the foundation for several hypersonic applications, including access to space, reconnaissance, strike, global reach and commercial transportation.
Boeing Phantom Works, a division of Boeing Defense, Space & Security, performed the overall air vehicle design, assembly and testing for the X-51A’s various components. The X-51A programme is a collaborative effort of the Air Force Research Laboratory and the Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency, with industry partners Boeing and Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne.
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