Chinese scientists have built a revolutionary 'sodramjet' plane engine for Mach 16 flight, enabling aircraft to reach anywhere in the world within two hours.
A prototype of the hydrogen-powered engine was tested in a hypersonic wind tunnel in Beijing and the results suggested unprecedented performance in terms of thrust, fuel efficiency, and operational stability.
Planes equipped with the engine can take off horizontally before accelerating into orbit around the Earth. The engine has a relatively simple design, consisting of a single-stage air inlet, a hydrogen fuel injector, and a combustion chamber.
Existing hypersonic flight engines are too weak, fuel-hungry, and unstable for commercial flight. The new design offers the best hope so far in taking commercial flight to hypersonic speeds.
Photo: Press Handout
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