Hypersonic Passenger Jet Could Fly London-Sydney in 90 Min.
Joe Cortez September 04, 2015
Proposed “green” hypersonic jet could take flyers from Europe to Australia in under two hours by the middle of the century.
Flyers looking for a faster way to get halfway around the world may have their wish come true, as a German research agency believes they may have the solution. International Business Times reports the DLR Institute of Space Systems is researching a hypersonic jet aircraft with the capacity of traveling from Northern Europe to Australia in just 90 minutes.
The new aircraft — dubbed the “SpaceLiner” — would be powered by current space rocket technology and capable of flying over 25 times the speed of sound. The aircraft would work in two stages: the first would propel the aircraft into the air powered by 11 rocket engines, much like traditional space shuttles. From there, the aircraft would separate into a passenger-carrying aircraft, while the rocket engines would be captured for recycling by another aircraft. At top speed, the SpaceLiner would travel at over 16,000 miles per hour with up to six tons of passengers and cargo.
While the prospect sounds exciting, there are still technical bugs to work out prior to launch. First off, the aircraft would need to be certified for passengers, as hypersonic travel is currently not considered safe for commercial travel. In addition, the flight would come with a high price tag, as the aircraft is projected to cost $33 billion to build, outside of operating costs.
If the SpaceLiner were to get the green light, the first flights could take place as soon as 2050 according to the German research team. The first flights would be targeted towards first- and business class travelers, with a proposed cabin capacity of 50 passengers.
[Photo: DLR]
Not only is this is not smart, but not very safe. We know how often rockets fail and explode. With those billions of dollars, how about investing in a unique engine type. On top of that this is not very green either. Leaving more space junk with the rockets left behind. Concerning the title, it's hard to call this a "Jet" in the traditional sense.
Too much wasting, if rockets are involved. Putting more rocket propellers to gain faster speed, is ultimately not a very smart approach...
How disappointing. I treasure the first class experience of 10 to 16-hour flights. Although the speed would be cool to experience....never made it on the Concorde.