The Boeing X-51A Waverider marked its maiden test ride as the scramjet demonstration aircraft was lifted off on board the B-52 Stratofortress from Edwards Air Force Base, California. This latest test is seen as a landmark for the foundation of the Waverider, before the aircraft goes through its flight test when it will jettisoned from a B-52 and traverse across the sky at hyper sonic speeds after igniting its scramjet engine.

The X-51A Waverider is a demonstration aircraft powered the state of art scramjet engine that propels the aircraft at hype sonic speeds touching Mach 7, which is around 8,050 km/h. The X-51 project is a joint collaboration between some of the top names in the field of aviation and military technology namely, US Air Force, DARPA, NASA, Boeing and Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne.

According to Charlie Brink (Program Manager, X-51A),

“This was a great day for the program. The early look is we successfully captured all of our test points without any anomalies. I’m really proud of the AFRL, Air Force Flight Test Center, and Boeing/Pratt Whitney Rocketdyne teams’ efforts to move us toward the big event. That flight test is currently planned in about two months.”

The real test of the X-51A will take place in February of the year 2010, when a B-52 from the Air Force Flight Test Center and will release the scramjet enabled X-51A Waverider at an altitude of 50,000 feet over the Pacific Ocean. The aircraft will then launch itself igniting the solid rocket rocket booster that will acclerate the X-51A to Mach 4.5, where the scramjet propulsion system will kick in, pushing the aircraft beyond six times the speed of sound at a maximum of Mach 7 for about 300 seconds.

Via Defense Talk.