The desire, if not the need, to go faster and faster is old news. Both missiles and humans have reached the defined speed of five times the speed of sound, or Mach 5 before; over a half-century ago. Today, the push for hypersonic flight is predominately military, although it also has a peaceful commercial aviation future as well. Our enemies already have hypersonic weapons; Russia has already used them, and Iran recently declared they have them. While this is not like the "Space Race" of yesterday; it is a race to be prepared for what might be a "Hypersonic War" before it would escalate to a "Nuclear War"; something the Russians have already threatened.
It seems to boil down to making hypersonic missiles so fast that the defender hasn't enough time to react. By the time he acquires the information, thinks about it, and obtains permission to respond; it is too late. The response times are now in the minutes! The faster the missile, the less time for the enemy to react and take action.
The world of hypersonic commercial transport has access to the same advanced technology as the military and sees a great future in cutting flight times in half or less over continental distances. However, the science and engineering for flying fragile humans at such speeds has its own problems.
Flight at this end of the velocity spectrum "pushes the envelope" in many areas. Consider this to be a handy educational reference book.
posted 08-06-2023 04:46 PM
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