Rocket plane to change air travel

EUROPEAN aerospace giant EADS yesterday unveiled its Zero Emission Hypersonic Transportation (Zehst) rocket plane it hopes will be able to fly from Paris to Tokyo in two-and-a-half hours by about 2050.

“I imagine the plane of the future to look like Zehst,” EADS’ chief technical officer Jean Botti said as the project was announced at Le Bourget airport the day before the start of the Paris International Air Show.

The low-pollution plane is designed to carry between 50 and 100 passengers and will take off using normal engines powered by biofuel made from seaweed, before switching on its rocket engines at altitude.