XPost: sci.space.shuttle, sci.space.policy   
      
   Richard Schumacher  wrote:   
      
   >...  It's an admirable scheme: scramjet   
   >investigations can be milked for another eight years or so before it becomes   
   obvious to Congress that   
   >scramjets will never be practical for anything, and then the investigators   
   can start asking for funding   
   >for PDE work...   
      
   A lot of people seem to share your opinion. Me, I like to work with   
   empirical data.   
      
   So far as I've been able to discern, we know rather little about the recent   
   test:   
     - the Hyper-X booster rocket works well   
     - the X-43A guidance system works   
     - the X-43A engine burns fuel at Mach 7   
      
   What I can't find anywhere is any indication of thrust.  Did that engine   
   generate any appreciable amount of thrust?  Enough to overcome Mach 5 drag   
   and actually accelerate?   
      
   If anyone has any such hard data, I'd love to hear about it.   
      
   /kenw   
   Ken Wallewein   
   K&M Systems Integration   
   Phone (403)274-7848   
   Fax   (403)275-4535   
   kenw@kmsi.net   
   www.kmsi.net   
      
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