Japanese Space Agency To Test Supersonic Aircraft
Concorde’s demise left the world bereft of supersonic passenger travel, but Japan’s space agency is working on a design that could fill that void. It was reported this week that the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) will test a model of a supersonic airplane next month over the Australian desert. JAXA is working under a joint agreement with France that was announced at the Paris Air Show in June. The uncrewed mock-up will be launched from a booster rocket, accelerate to Mach 2, and return to the ground under a parachute. The plan aims to build a jet that could carry 300 passengers from New York to Tokyo in under six hours, as soon as 2015.
Concorde's demise left the world bereft of supersonic passenger travel, but Japan's space agency is working on a design that could fill that void. It was reported this week that the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) will test a model of a supersonic airplane next month over the Australian desert. JAXA is working under a joint agreement with France that was announced at the Paris Air Show in June. The uncrewed mock-up will be launched from a booster rocket, accelerate to Mach 2, and return to the ground under a parachute. The plan aims to build a jet that could carry 300 passengers from New York to Tokyo in under six hours, as soon as 2015. Japan conducted a similar test in 2002 that failed when the test aircraft separated from the rocket prematurely and crashed.
