Haverstick Consulting, Inc. recently announced that its Rocket Support Services (RSS) subsidiary has completed a successful launch of an experimental scramjet engine on a relatively low-cost sounding rocket in the outback of Australia. The engine was tested at a speed approaching 10 times the speed of sound, or more than 6,800 miles per hour. The scramjet engine was developed by Australia`s Defense Science and Technology Organization (DSTO) and the University of Queensland, and was funded by the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). RSS, which worked under contract to DSTO and with support from the U.S. Naval Surface Warfare Center detachment at White Sands Missile Range, provided the launch vehicle and launch services for the project. By using a sounding rocket, RSS was able to boost the scramjet engine to hypersonic speeds for less than one-tenth the cost of previous similar experiments.
A scramjet engine is an air-breathing, supersonic combustion ram jet engine that is the next generation of jet propulsion technology with applications in both the commercial aviation and defense industries. Scramjets have the potential to enable the development of commercial aircraft that can travel at hypersonic speeds, greatly reducing the travel time between continents to only a few hours.
"Everyone at DARPA and DSTO was pleased by the results of the launch, and we feel that we took a giant leap forward in demonstrating the ability to conduct extremely sophisticated technology experiments using low-cost launch vehicles," said George Baker, managing director of RSS. "The RSS team played a critical role by providing a successful launch, and the results certainly speak volumes for the capabilities of our people and organization. We look forward to continuing to work with DARPA, DSTO and other agencies engaged in the development of scramjet technology."
"While the experiment data is still being evaluated by DSTO, early reports suggest that the scramjet engine test was very successful," said Howard Bates, president and chief executive officer for Haverstick Consulting. "The difficulty of this project was beyond anything that RSS has worked on in the past, yet the RSS team literally scrambled around the world to ensure its success. Adding to the difficulty was that we were simultaneously involved in the launching of another rocket in Hawaii in an unrelated test, which also proved successful. This was the first time in company history that we had two rocket launches going off at nearly the same time, and the achievement is a true compliment to the knowledge, expertise and determination of our RSS team."
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