but it’s still very much a work in progress. As already mentioned, only 4 nations have been successful in developing scramjet technology. The very first scramjet engine-powered vehicle took flight in November of 1991 and was developed by Russia. It has been approximately 27 years...
NASA engineer Laura O'Connor inspects a supersonic ramjet (scramjet) engine model at Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. © Corbis Key Takeaways A ramjet is a type of air-breathing jet engine that operates on the principle of compressing incoming air without the need for rotating...
A hypersonic cruise missile is boosted by a rocket to hypersonic speed and then uses an air-breathing engine called ascramjetto sustain that speed. Because they ingest air into their engines, hypersonic cruise missiles require smaller launch rockets than hypersonic glide vehicles, which means they c...
A jet engine can only be used for up to Mach 3 or 4 before its parts will begin to overheat. In a supersonic combustion ramjet, or scramjet, an air inlet draws in air. The air is slowed and compressed as the vehicle speeds through the atmosphere. Fuel is added to the supersonic ...
fuel injectors, and an outlet. The air enters the engine at high speeds, is mixed with fuel, undergoes combustion, and then exits as exhaust, the force of which creates thrust. When the incoming air is combusted at subsonic speeds it is a ramjet, at supersonic speeds it is a scramjet....