© 2024 WFAE

Mailing Address:
WFAE 90.7
P.O. Box 896890
Charlotte, NC 28289-6890
Tax ID: 56-1803808
90.7 Charlotte 93.7 Southern Pines 90.3 Hickory 106.1 Laurinburg
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

NASA Scramjet Sets a New Air-Speed Record

A NASA research jet sets a new air speed record for air-breathing engines by traveling nearly 7,000 mph, or 10 times the speed of sound. The space agency's X-43A "scramjet" flew over the Pacific Ocean at 110,000 feet after being taken aloft under the wing of a B-52B bomber.

After its release from beneath the larger craft's wing, a booster rocket ignited, sending the X-43A on its way. NPR's David Kestenbaum reports.

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

David Kestenbaum is a correspondent for NPR, covering science, energy issues and, most recently, the global economy for NPR's multimedia project Planet Money. David has been a science correspondent for NPR since 1999. He came to journalism the usual way — by getting a Ph.D. in physics first.