HyShot
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HyShot is a research project of the University of Queensland, Australia Centre for Hypersonics, to demonstrate the possibility of supersonic combustion under flight conditions and compare the results of shock tunnel experiments.
The combustion unit is launched on the nose of a Terrier-Orion rocket on a high ballistic trajectory, reaching altitudes in excess of 300km. The rocket is rotated to face the ground, and the combustion unit ignited for a period of about 10 seconds while falling between 35km and 23km at around Mach 7.6. The system is not designed to produce thrust.
The system was first flown successfully on July 30, 2002. It is believed by many to be the first successful flight of a scramjet engine, although some dispute this and point primarily to earlier tests by Russian scientists.
The team continue to work as part of the Australian Hypersonics Initiative, a joint program of UQ, the Australian National University and the University of NSW, the Queensland and South Australian governments and the Australian Defence Department.
[1] (http://www.hyshot.info/images/hyshotsignhdr.jpg)
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- Centre for Hypersonics - HyShot Scramjet Test Programme (http://www.mech.uq.edu.au/hyper/hyshot/)