Supersonic jet launch 'successful'
October 10, 2005 - 11:49AM
Japan has hailed the test of a supersonic jet in South Australia's outback as a success.
The model of the supersonic jet, planned to be a successor to the Concorde, was launched from a site near Woomera in SA's north about 7am CST today.
The last test flight of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) jet ended disastrously in 2002 when the unmanned prototype model crashed to earth and exploded moments after being launched.
But JAXA said today's trial was successful.
"It went well, it was successful," JAXA spokeswoman Mayuni Onodera said.
Today's launch occurred at Woomera's abandoned British rocket testing range and was delayed several days due to bad weather.
JAXA said it would hold a media conference on the test flight later today.
According to the test flight plan, the 11.5 metre model jet was to soar to about 20km above the earth on the back of a rocket.
It was then to detach, reach more than twice the speed of sound and glide back to earth on a parachute.
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Data gained through the test will be used in joint research by Japan and France towards a next-generation supersonic jet.
No budget projections have yet been made for the entire project, which Japanese hope will produce a supersonic passenger jet capable of flying from Tokyo to New York in just under six hours - less than half the current time of a Concorde.
But doubts have been raised about whether the project will ever be commercially viable given that the Concorde, which was retired two years ago, never managed to turn a profit.
Japan aims for the supersonic jet to carry 300 passengers, three times as many as the Concorde, and travel at Mach 2 which is twice the speed of sound.
And the original Jaxa story
Now I can see China getting anxious to copy and produce something similar.
