This Air Force illustration depicts the X-51A Waverider scramjet vehicle during hypersonic flight during its May 26, 2010 test. Powered by a Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne SJY61 scramjet engine, it is designed to ride on its own shockwave and accelerate to about Mach 6. Full Story.
The Boeing Phantom Works X-51A vehicle with Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne SJY61 scramjet hangs on B-52H wing mount under full moon.
An X-51 Waverider hypersonic test vehicle is seen in an Air Force hangar prior to a record-setting May 2010 test flight that marked the longest hypersonic flight.
Ground crew members make the final checks to the X-51A Waverider scramjet, which is affixed to an Edwards B-52H Stratofortress, before the Waverider's June 13 flight test.
A B-52H Stratofortress taxis to the runway at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., June 13, 2011, carrying the X-51A Waverider scramjet during its second test flight.
An Air Force Flight Test Center B-52 Stratofortress from Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., carries an X-51A Waverider prior to the scramjet’s first hypersonic flight test on March 26, 2010.
An X-51 Scramjet-Waverider mock-up hangs inside the Benefield Anechoic Facility during the vehicle's antenna testing Jan. 29, 2008 at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.
Ground crew members at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., make the final checks June 13, 2011, to the X-51A Waverider scramjet prior to its second test flight.
Ground crew members at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., make the final checks June 13, 2011, to the X-51A Waverider scramjet prior to its second test flight. Affixed to a B-52H Stratofortress, the Waverider was flown over the Pacific Ocean and launched.
The X-51A WaveRider hypersonic flight test vehicle was uploaded to an Air Force Flight Test Center B-52 Stratofortress at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., July 17 for fit testing. Two B-52 test flights are planned this fall prior to the X-51's first hypersonic scramjet flight over the Pacific Ocean scheduled in December. Representatives from the Air Force Research Laboratory, DARPA, Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne and Boeing are partnering on the X-51A technology demonstrator program.
An X-51A Waverider successfully launched from a B-52 Stratofortress, like the one shown here, on May 26, 2010. It was the longest supersonic combustion ramjet-powered hypersonic flight to date and accelerated to Mach 5.
The X-51A WaveRider hypersonic flight test vehicle was uploaded to an Air Force Flight Test Center B-52 Stratofortress at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., July 17 for fit testing. Two B-52 test flights are planned this fall prior to the X-51's first hypersonic scramjet flight over the Pacific Ocean scheduled in December. Representatives from the Air Force Research Laboratory, DARPA, Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne and Boeing are partnering on the X-51A technology demonstrator program.
On the flightline of Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., Staff Sgt. Jonathan Young prepares to upload the X-51A WaveRider hypersonic flight test vehicle to a B-52 Stratofortress July 17 for fit testing. Two B-52 test flights are planned this fall prior to the X-51's first hypersonic scramjet flight over the Pacific Ocean scheduled in December. Representatives from the Air Force Research Laboratory, DARPA, Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne and Boeing are partnering on the X-51A technology demonstrator program. Sergeant Young is with the 412th Maintenance Group.
