Rocket Plane of the Near Future?
Filed in archive Tech News Around The World by Eric Hanson on December 20, 2006

technology used to fly the cruise missiles is still in development - which the Popular Mechanics article covers in excellent detail.Strategic and social implications of weapons aside, the successful development of the X-51 (the name for the hypersonic cruise missile) creates interesting implications for the future of commercial flight. The precursor to the X-51, NASA's X-43A, hit Mach 10 in 2004 and demonstrated scientific principles that would be necessary for any aircraft that wasn't bound for space to use to keep from breaking up in the atmosphere. The X-43A is only 12 feet long, so it's a long way from being something you could pack a flight full of people into, but it's a start. Who knows? Maybe some day in our lifetimes, it'll take longer to get to the airport than it will to fly to your destination.
Via Gizmodo
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