An unmanned NASA jet screamed into the record books high over the Pacific Ocean by reaching speeds of almost 7,000 mph (11,300 kph), brightening hopes that humans might one day be able to fly across a continent in minutes instead of hours. The 12-foot-long X-43A supersonic combustion ramjet _ or scramjet _ flew on its own power for just 10 seconds after separating from a booster rocket, but it was enough to excite researchers. "We've given industry and government a lot of confidence to go forward with hypersonic flight," said Joel Sitz, the X-43A project manager at Dryden Flight Research Center on Edwards Air Force Base. "I think that technology definitely has a future." Initial data indicated the aircraft flew at about Mach 9.6 _ or nearly 10 times the speed of sound _ said Randy Voland, the scramjet propulsion team leader from NASA's Langley Research Center in Virginia. "We can really do this stuff," he said. The X-43A was mounted on a Pegasus rocket and carried aloft by NASA's B-52 carrier aircraft to a range off the Southern California coast. At 40,000 feet (12,200 meters), the Pegasus was released and ignited, soaring to high altitude and a speed of Mach 9.8 before the X-43A separated and flew on its own at an altitude of 111,000 feet (33,800 meters). "It's 90 seconds of terror, but once it's over with you realize that you've really accomplished some great things," Sitz said. --more 1346 Local Time 1046 GMT
