Mystery Flyer Goes 4,500 MPH

Imagine flying from New York to LA in less than hour. The Air Force and Boeing are testing the X-51A  Waverider today. It’s supposed to be able to fly at up to 6 times the speed of sound, 4,500 miles per hour.  The test will be conducted off the coast of California. The goal is to have the craft maintain the hypersonic speed for five minutes. In earlier test flights they’ve hit 3,500 miles per hour for almost three minutes.

The Waverider is not a rocket powered craft but is powered by something called a scramjet. Want to find out more?