Nasa 'scramjet' sets speed record

A tiny unmanned Nasa “scramjet” soared above the Pacific Ocean at nearly 10 times the speed of sound – almost 7,000mph – in a record-breaking demonstration of a radical new engine technology.

The 12ft X-43A supersonic combustion ramjet flew at about Mach 9.6 or slightly higher, said research engineer Randy Voland, leader of the scramjet propulsion team at Nasa’s Dryden Flight Research Centre at Edwards Air Force Base.