Chinese scientists have succeeded in developing a hypersonic engine, based on a design abandoned by NASA 20 years ago.
A team of Chinese researchers at Nanking University of Aeronautics and Astronautics has successfully developed and tested a prototype hypersonic aircraft engine based on an ancient design proposed twenty years ago by Ming Han Tang, then chief engineer of NASA's Hypersonic Engine Program.
Unlike most hypersonic aircraft, where the engine is located at the bottom of the aircraft, the design introduced by Tang in the late 1990s, relies on two separate engines located on either side of the aircraft.
According to Tang's design, the two engines can operate as low as jet engines, and then enter hypersonic mode when the aircraft accelerates to five times the speed of sound or faster.
Tang's efforts were unsuccessful, as the US government canceled the program, due to technical complications and high cost.
In 2011, Tang's canceled design was revealed, allowing researchers at "Nanking University" under the leadership of Tan Huigun to build a prototype of the aircraft "based on the idea of designs put forward by Tang" and test that plane in a wind tunnel with different characteristics, and in this way the scientists discovered That the engines can operate in the most difficult flight conditions.
It is noteworthy that the Chinese plane is characterized by wings with ends facing upwards, unlike the wings of the Concorde plane, with a speed of more than 12,000 miles per hour, and it will be able to reach anywhere in the world within one hour.