Hypersonic Aircraft Travels 260 Miles in 6 Minutes

A Boeing X-51A Waverider Scramjet flew five times the speed of sound before taking a planned nosedive into the Pacific Ocean this week The launch was the fourth and final test flight in the U.S. Air Force's $300 million program. According to X-51A Program Manager Charlie Brink, it was a success Powered by a solid rocket booster, the scramjet was released at 50,000 feet, and it only took 26 seconds to accelerate to Mach 4.8. At 60,000 feet, it hit Mach 5.1 after separating from the booster -- tha...