HYPERSONIC TRANSPORT TECHNOLOGY

The possibility of developing a hypersonic commercial transport (HST) for the early 21st century is explored in terms of potential performance characteristics and recent advances in propulsion and structures technology. Range-gross weight characteristics indicate that a 200 passenger, Mach 6 aircraft with a range of 9200 km (500 n. mi.) have a gross take-off weight not too different from that of current wide-body subsonic transports. The low cruise sonic boom overpressures generated by the HST opens the possibility of supersonic overland flight. Recent advances in hypersonic propulsion systems and long-lived hypersonic aircraft structure are also discussed. The airframe-integrated scramjet and the actively-cooled airframe structure are identified as the most promising candidates for the HST and current approaches are described in some detail.

• Corporate Authors:

  Pergamon Press, Incorporated

  Maxwell House, Fairview Park
  Elmsford, NY  United States  10523
• Authors:
  • Kirkham, F S
  • Hunt, J L
• Publication Date: 1977-1

Media Info

• Features: References;
• Pagination: p. 181-199
• Serial:
  • Acta Astronautica
  • Volume: 4
  • Issue Number: 1-2
  • Publisher: Pergamon Press, Incorporated

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Air transportation; Aircraft; Airframes; Civil aviation; Hypersonic aircraft; Propulsion; Sonic boom; Vehicle performance; Weight
• Old TRIS Terms: Aircraft performance
• Subject Areas: Aviation; Planning and Forecasting; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00172803
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Engineering Index
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Jun 28 1978 12:00AM