High pressure work boosts scramjet research

University of Queensland rocket scientists have upgraded a key ground test facility ahead of three experimental scramjet flights in Woomera in late 2005.
HyShot international program leader Professor Allan Paull said the University’s T4 shock tunnel at St Lucia could now simulate true flight conditions of Mach 10 (11,000 km/hour) at an altitude of 30km.
“It can now operate at pressures as well as the world’s top facilities, yet it is still a small and comparatively cheap facility,” he said.