HyShot

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HyShot is a research project of the University of Queensland, Australia Centre for Hypersonics, to demonstrate the possibility of supersonic combustion under flight conditions and compare the results of shock tunnel experiments.

The project has involved one launch of the scramjet designed by the British company QinetiQ [link], and the successful launch of one engine designed by the University of Queensland. Each combustion unit is launched on the nose of a Terrier-Orion Mk70 sounding rocket on a high ballistic trajectory, reaching altitudes in excess of 300 km. The rocket is rotated to face the ground, and the combustion unit ignited for a period of 6-10 seconds while falling between 35 km and 23 km at around Mach 7.6. The system is not designed to produce thrust.

The first HyShot flight was on 30 October 2001.
The first successful launch (Hyshot II) was of a University of Queensland scramjet on July 30, 2002. It is believed by many to be the first successful flight of a scramjet engine, although some dispute this and point primarily to earlier tests by Russian scientists.
A second successful flight (HyShot III) using a QinetiQ scramjet was achieved on March 25, 2006.[link] The later QinetiQ prototype is cylindrical with four stainless steel combustors around the outside. The aerodynamics of the vehicle is improved by this arrangement but it was expensive to manufacture.
The HyShot IV flight on 30 March 2006 launched successfully, and telemetry was received, however it is believed that the scramjet did not function as expected. Data analysis is required to confirm what occurred. [link]

The HyShot V flight on 18 June 2006 launched successfully and reached mach 8.

The carrier rocket uses motors from the RIM-2 Terrier (6 second burn, 4000 km/h) and Orion (second stage, 26 second burn, 8600 km/h, 56 km altitude). A fairing over the payload is then jettisoned. The package then coasts to an altitude of around 300 km. Cold gas nitrogen attitude control thrusters are used to prepare the payload for atmospheric reentry. The experiment lasts for some 5 seconds as the payload descends between approximately 35 and 23 kilometers altitude, when hydrogen fuel is fed to the scramjet. Telemetry reports results to receivers on the ground for later analysis. The payload lands about 400 km down range from the launch site; its temperature is still about 300 degrees Celsius, which may be enough to cause a small brush fire and thereby make spotting and recovery easier even though a radio beacon is in the payload

The team continue to work as part of the Australian Hypersonics Initiative, a joint program of the University of Queensland, the Australian National University and the University of New South Wales' Australian Defence Force Academy campus, the governments of Queensland and South Australia and the Australian Defence Department.

External links

[Press release] about Hyshot launch
[Hyshot images]
[Centre for Hypersonics - HyShot Scramjet Test Programme]

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