NASA jet hit speeds of 5,000mph

Three years after its first test flight ended in an explosion, NASA yesterday successfully launched an experimental jet that the agency believes reached a record-setting speed of about 5,000mph.

The unpiloted X-43A made an 11-second powered flight, then went through some twists and turns during a six-minute glide before plunging into the Pacific Ocean about 400 miles off the California coast.