The Change Mariner

X-43 Jet Breaks Speed Record

New York Times:

An experimental X-43 pilotless plane on Saturday broke the world speed record for an atmospheric engine, briefly flying 4,780 miles an hour, seven times the speed of sound, NASA said.

The hypersonic aircraft, a cross between a jet and a rocket, was dropped from the wing of a modified B-52 bomber and boosted by an auxiliary rocket to an altitude of nearly 100,000 feet . It then flew on its own for 10 seconds before plunging into the Pacific Ocean, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration said.

"Everything worked as planned," a NASA spokeswoman, Leslie William, said.
NASA says the prototype engine will eventually power a new generation of space shuttles.