India's hypersonic plane dream passes first test

India's hypersonic plane dream passes first test
K Raghu
Tuesday, January 10, 2006 23:48 IST

BANGALORE: India's dream of a lighter and cheaper space transport vehicle has got the first boost.

Space scientists have completed ground tests of the homegrown supersonic combustion ramjet (Scramjet) that may eventually lead to building a hypersonic plane by the country.

The air-breathing engine has achieved a speed of six mach (a mach is the speed of sound), for seven seconds, which means it can fly three times faster than existing fighter and consume lesser fuel than the current aircraft.

The United States, which worked on the mission for nearly three decades, is the only nation to have flown the Scramjet in air. Others in the race are China, Russia, Japan, Australia and Europe, but are a long way like India to near a flight demonstration.

"The tests were conducted over a period of two years. A national committee has certified the ground tests," an Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) official said on Tuesday.

ISRO scientists at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) in Thiruvananthapuram will attempt in the next three years to fly the Scramjet in atmosphere. The air-breathing engine will be released from a two-stage sounding rocket and tested to fly at speed of over six mach.

Air-breathing rocket systems use oxygen from the atmosphere, burn it with the stored on- board fuel to fly faster in contrast to the conventional chemical rocket systems that carry both the oxygen and the fuel on-board, ISRO said.

As a result, the air breathing systems are lighter and more efficient, which reduces costs of hurling a satellite or sending a man to space.

Missile scientists at the Defence Research and Development Laboratories (DRDL) in Hyderabad are also attempting to fly an indigenous hypersonic plane by 2008, "We are also conducting ground tests of the Scramjet. Our aim is to fly a demonstrator by 2008," DRDO chief controller R&D Prahlada told DNA.

DRDO has expertise in air breathing engine technology (Ramjet) at sub-sonic speed in its surface-to-air Akash missile programme,but going supersonic is a tougher task (Incorrect, as Akash is supersonic; Also refer to official source given later).

They have to build materials that can withstand the heat at such speed, mixing of high-speed air with fuel, stability and retaining the flame for a distance. This is a challenge even for the US.

The others include ones related to the mixing of very high speed air (velocity around 1.5 km/s) with fuel, achieving stable ignition and flame holding in addition to ensuring efficient combustion, within the practical length of the combustor.

ISRO believes that a hypersonic airplane may drastically cut costs of carrying a load to space at about $ 500 to $ 1000 per kg, as against the current costs of $ 12,000 to $ 15,000 per kg.

"To bring costs down, we need a two pronged approach (a) the systems are made recoverable and reusable (b) adopt more efficient propulsion systems like air-breathing rockets," ISRO said.

Source:


Official Source:


Comments:
We can expect to see Brahmos-2 in some years time.

Rough specifications may be as follows:
Speed: Mach 6
Range: 1000 kms ?
Guidance: GLONASS+INS (work is already underway for Brahmos)
Payload: 300kgs warhead.

You can't expect anything. Do you have an idea of the tech that is required to fly at hypersonic speed? For a plane, you'd have to structure it, so that there are virtually holes in your planes. And honestly, it's quite useless to have a plane like that. It's just for show. It wastes a lot of gas.

You don't want to do the same thing with your AShM. Mach 4 is probably the maximum speed you want to reach with your AShM. Above that, the material just can't stand the heat anymore. Basic physics. The only way you can make it hypersonic is to fly it in really high altitude like the Kitchen, but I don't think the accuracy would be the same. There is a reason that the Russians don't use the kitchen anymore.

Theres a reason why the American are working on it too. Its better then the current shuttles. It has been ISRO's long term goal to have a scramjet powered shuttle. They plan the skip the regular shuttle probabiliy due to cost. Now if I remember right NASA has actually lent ISRO a hand aswell as Russia.

skip a regualar shuttle??? how bout sending a man to space first? as i see it, indias former head of ISRO did not see much future in space, so he limited the program to sateliites. so the new head must have some more futuristic(and i beilive more correct) views of space.

but how will an air breathing scramjet contribute to a space mission?

MIGleader said:

skip a regualar shuttle??? how bout sending a man to space first? as i see it, indias former head of ISRO did not see much future in space, so he limited the program to sateliites. so the new head must have some more futuristic(and i beilive more correct) views of space.

but how will an air breathing scramjet contribute to a space mission?

Click to expand...

How about thats one step closer to creating a scramjet.
As I see it sending a man to space is a complete waste of money. Why do you think the Japanese or Europeans don't do it? The Americans and Soviets did it for national pride. As ISRO sees it they don't need to send a manned mission anywhere soon. But that doesn't mean they don't have longterm plans.

no matter how you argue it.. i think it's a good achievement.... not many nations can achieve something like that. should applaud the indian scientists for it. let's not argue if sending man to space is the right way to spend money, people's done it, so good, let them do it. if they don't want to send people to space, then that's good to, let them spend their money somewhere they think is useful.

anywayz... even when the scramjet is not exactly very useful right now, but there are more materials being designed and researched, and also better structures are designed, it will eventually have a use. and often these research leads to other break throughs, so don't just say it's a waste of money.

About scramjets. Don't the Russians already have a prototype Mach 5 Cruisemissile?

Quoted by tphuang:
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You can't expect anything. Do you have an idea of the tech that is required to fly at hypersonic speed? For a plane, you'd have to structure it, so that there are virtually holes in your planes. And honestly, it's quite useless to have a plane like that. It's just for show. It wastes a lot of gas.
________________
The technology of hypersonic engines is being pursued by many nations.
The immediate applications are in space-flight and hypersonic aircraft.

Fuel is saved by usage of hypersonic engines. In case of conventional engines, the combustor as well as the chemical fuel has to be carried, whereas in ramjet/scramjet engines, only the chemical fuel is to be carried, since the combustor shall be available from the atmosphere.

ISRO believes that a hypersonic airplane may drastically cut costs of carrying a load to space at about $ 500 to $ 1000 per kg, as against the current costs of $ 12,000 to $ 15,000 per kg.

Quoted by tphuang:
________________
You don't want to do the same thing with your AShM. Mach 4 is probably the maximum speed you want to reach with your AShM. Above that, the material just can't stand the heat anymore.
________________
The limitation of Mach 3 is due to RAMJET technology. Theoretically, a ramjet engine also must go on accelerating tiill it reaches the speed of light, but at speeds higher than Mach 3, the body begins to vibrate and the missile may explode.

Thus, in order to make cruising possile at hypersonic speeds, SCRAMJET technology is required.

Quoted by tphuang:
________________
Basic physics. The only way you can make it hypersonic is to fly it in really high altitude like the Kitchen, but I don't think the accuracy would be the same. There is a reason that the Russians don't use the kitchen anymore.
________________
Hypersonic cruise missiles will fly at high altitude. Regarding the accuracy, not much can be said, even of USA's hypersonic cruise missile Hyfly.
But, the guidance is likely to be from point-to-point, with an onboard computer calculating the trajectory with mid-course corrections using GPS/GLONASS.

Sources and references:





USA's hypersonic cruise missile:

MIGleader said:

but how will an air breathing scramjet contribute to a space mission?

Click to expand...

scramjets can theoretically reach speeds up to around Mach 25, and at very high altitudes Mach numbers in this range are close to orbital velocity. So it is true that scientists think an air-breathing engine can make it into space.

Another way of looking at a scramjet vehicle is as the first stage in a multi-stage launch system. Such a vehicle would not need to reach orbital velocity itself, but would rather reach a more technically feasible speed of say Mach 10-15 at some altitude over 100,000 ft. Once at this speed the payload and other stages in conventional rocket form can be released and achieve orbital velocity. So in end effect the scramjet vehicle would be a reusable first stage in such a launch system.

Indianfighter said:

The technology of hypersonic engines is being pursued by many nations.
The immediate applications are in space-flight and hypersonic aircraft.

Fuel is saved by usage of hypersonic engines. In case of conventional engines, the combustor as well as the chemical fuel has to be carried, whereas in ramjet/scramjet engines, only the chemical fuel is to be carried, since the combustor shall be available from the atmosphere.

ISRO believes that a hypersonic airplane may drastically cut costs of carrying a load to space at about $ 500 to $ 1000 per kg, as against the current costs of $ 12,000 to $ 15,000 per kg.

Click to expand...

actually, it's more likely that the jet will expand so much tha tyou have to build it with holes to compensate for the expansion. So, therefore, it would leak gas all over the runway.

The limitation of Mach 3 is due to RAMJET technology. Theoretically, a ramjet engine also must go on accelerating tiill it reaches the speed of light, but at speeds higher than Mach 3, the body begins to vibrate and the missile may explode.

Thus, in order to make cruising possile at hypersonic speeds, SCRAMJET technology is required.

Click to expand...

I'm glad that you have so much confidence that India can develop a mach 6 cruise missile when other more technologically advanced countries are still not there yet.

Hypersonic cruise missiles will fly at high altitude. Regarding the accuracy, not much can be said, even of USA's hypersonic cruise missile Hyfly.
But, the guidance is likely to be from point-to-point, with an onboard computer calculating the trajectory with mid-course corrections using GPS/GLONASS.

Click to expand...

why do you think the Americans are still in Tomahawk? Speed is not the only important part of a missile.