NASA’s Hypersonic Flights: Fact and Fiction

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Early in the blockbuster movie “Top Gun: Maverick,” U.S. Navy Captain Pete “Maverick” Mitchell takes the secret hypersonic “Darkstar” airplane on an unauthorized flight test. After using jet engines to power past Mach 3, roughly 2,300 mph, Maverick announces his transition to scramjet propulsion, propelling the Darkstar to over Mach 10, about 7,600 mph. The intense heat at that speed causes the Darkstar to disintegrate, and the next time we see Maverick, he’s calmly walking into a diner, having successfully ejected from the aircraft.

But what’s Hollywood exaggeration, and what’s scientifically feasible? Is flight at Mach 10 even possible? In the movie, Maverick is hailed as “the fastest man alive,” but who was the real fastest man alive? These intriguing questions have their roots at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California.

Is Mach 10 flight possible within Earth’s atmosphere? The short answer is yes. Spacecraft like the now-retired Space Shuttle reached speeds of 17,500 mph, nearly Mach 25, while re-entering Earth’s atmosphere. In terms of aircraft, NASA’s uncrewed X-43A came closest to achieving Mach 10, hitting Mach 9.68 during a groundbreaking flight on November 16, 2004. The research and testing for this remarkable achievement were conducted by the experts at NASA Armstrong.

The X-43A, a 12-foot-long aircraft, was powered by an experimental scramjet engine, the same type of engine mentioned in the movie. A scramjet engine draws oxygen for combustion from the atmosphere instead of carrying it like a traditional rocket. The scramjet powered the X-43 for approximately 10 seconds, propelling it to speeds of 6,600 mph and subjecting it to temperatures of up to 3,600 degrees Fahrenheit. The flight ended as planned, with the aircraft splashing down into the ocean.

Paul Reukaut, deputy project manager for X-43A flight research and testing, noted, “These demonstrations proved the viability of scramjet engine technology in a ‘real world’ flight environment and were the result of over 40 years of high-speed propulsion research within NASA.”

As for the title of “the fastest man,” that distinction belongs to William J. “Pete” Knight, who piloted the X-15A-2 to a remarkable speed of 4,520 mph, equivalent to Mach 6.7, on October 3, 1967. Knight’s journey came perilously close to the fictional ordeal experienced by Maverick. During his record-setting flight, the X-15 was carrying a dummy scramjet engine beneath the fuselage. At such high speeds, the intersection of shockwaves from the scramjet and the pylon created turbulent flows, generating temperatures exceeding 2,800 degrees. The extreme heat melted the dummy scramjet and inflicted damage on the aircraft’s frame, ventral tail, pressurization lines, and electrical wiring, rendering it incapable of future flights.

The X-15 program represented a collaborative effort involving NASA, the Air Force, and the Navy, aimed at exploring the challenges of high aerodynamic heating rates, stability and control, physiological phenomena, and other problems associated with hypersonic flight. Hypersonic flight denotes speeds greater than five times the speed of sound, which translates to approximately 3,800 mph, dependent on altitude and atmospheric conditions. It also characterizes an object, such as an aircraft, moving so rapidly that it begins to affect the surrounding air’s chemistry, breaking apart air molecules and generating intense heat.

The successes of programs like X-15 and X-43 laid the foundation for future hypersonic advancements, serving both national defense and commercial interests.

NASA’s mission is to explore the unknown in air and space, innovate for the benefit of humanity, and inspire the world through discovery.