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Published online 17 November 2004 | Nature | doi:10.1038/news041115-6
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NASA plane smashes speed record
Scramjets could provide new route to space.
NASA's experimental hypersonic jet plane flew at nearly ten times the speed of sound yesterday, breaking its own speed record set earlier this year.
The unmanned X-43A aircraft used a supersonic combustion ramjet (scramjet) to reach speeds of roughly 11,000 kilometres per hour, flying under its own power for about 20 seconds.
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