Hypersonix Achieves World First with Green Hydrogen Hypersonic Flight
A Brisbane-based company, Hypersonix Launch Systems, has successfully conducted the inaugural test flight of its DART AE hypersonic aircraft from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia, USA. The aircraft, powered by a 3D-printed, hydrogen-fuelled scramjet engine, reached speeds of Mach 5 and covered approximately 800 kilometers in the upper atmosphere.
This flight marks the world's first successful sustained hypersonic flight utilizing green hydrogen.
This flight marks the world's first successful sustained hypersonic flight utilizing green hydrogen.
Flight Details and Cutting-Edge Technology
The DART AE aircraft, measuring 3.5 meters in length, was carried into the atmosphere by a Rocket Lab HASTE rocket. It separated from its booster rocket at an altitude of 45 kilometers above Earth before accelerating to Mach 5, equivalent to over 6,000 km/h. During its flight, the metallic skin of the DART AE reached approximately 800 degrees Celsius.
Developed by Hypersonix Launch Systems, the DART AE scramjet engine is designed with no moving parts and compresses incoming air using high-speed shockwaves. While the engine is capable of propelling vehicles up to 12 times the speed of sound (Mach 12), this initial flight achieved Mach 5. The company stated the DART AE is designed to be manoeuvrable, intended to function as an aircraft rather than a typical rocket-based hypersonic craft.
Mission Context and Development Journey
The test flight, designated "That's Not a Knife" under the mission name "Cassowary Vex," was part of a program for the United States' Defence Innovation Unit, which selected Hypersonix for participation.
Hypersonix Launch Systems, co-founded by former NASA research scientist Michael Smart and University of Queensland engineers, was established in late 2019. The company employs 58 staff in Australia, with the DART AE unit assembled in Brisbane before its transport to the US launch site.
Logistical challenges encountered included transport delays of the DART AE across the United States due to a snowstorm approximately two weeks prior to the launch. The launch itself, broadcast live, proceeded successfully despite previous weather-related delays.
Future Applications and Ambitious Plans
The successful flight is intended to contribute to the further development of hypersonic technology with potential applications in defense, travel, and as part of staged payload deliveries to Earth's orbit. Hypersonix chief executive Matt Hill stated that the technology is significant for the future of hypersonic flight.
Hypersonix chief executive Matt Hill suggested that travel from Sydney to London could potentially be reduced to two hours within 10 years.
He suggested that travel from Sydney to London could potentially be reduced to two hours within 10 years, though logistical challenges for passenger flights would remain.
This specific DART AE unit was single-use and not recovered. However, Hypersonix Launch Systems plans for subsequent larger vehicles to be reusable. The development of this technology occurs within a broader global context of increasing interest in hypersonic capabilities, including military applications and long-term civil aviation benefits such as reduced international flight times.