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28 March 2024

NY to Tokyo in 90 mins at thrice speed of sound

Published
By Vicky Kapur

Since 2003, after the death of the Concorde, a turbo-jet powered supersonic passenger plane, air travel has been stubbornly slow, with aircraft manufacturers spending billions of dirhams to build bigger planes that can fly longer – but not necessarily faster.
Until now.

XCOR Aerospace says its Lynx spacecraft can take us from New York to Tokyo in half the time it would take to watch a full-bloodies Bollywood flick.

The California-based firm claims the Lynx can travel at a speed of more than 4,000kmph – and fly passengers on a commercial basis.

By comparison, the speed of sound at sea level (it varies according to altitude) is about 1,235kmph, which means that the Lynx proposes to fly at more than thrice the speed of sound. The speed of sound at 20,000ft, on the other hand, is 1,062kmph, which means that the Lynx will actually be flying at four times the speed of sound.

Initially, the spacecraft will be ferrying a pilot and passenger to the edge of space for a few minutes of microgravity and the ultimate view of the Earth.
XCOR anticipates beginning space tourist flights on the new plane in 2013, with tickets selling for $95,000 (Dh350,000) per person.

The firm’s COO Andrew Nelson has been quoted by the media saying flights between Tokyo and New York are likely to be available within the next 20 years.

It will definitely be the fastest commercial flight since the days of the Concorde. Unfortunately, considering the prototypes right now are only for a two-seater spacecraft, the Lynx currently won’t be flying more than one passenger at a time, although it can make up to four trips a day to outer space.

“The Lynx is XCOR’s entry into the commercial reusable launch vehicle (RLV) market,” says XCOR. “This two-seat, piloted space transport vehicle will take humans and payloads on a half-hour suborbital flight to 100 km (330,000 feet) and then return safely to a landing at the takeoff runway,” it says.

“The Lynx’s aircraft-like capabilities allow high tempo operations, up to four (4) flights per day, rapid call-up, fast turnaround between flights, low cost operations and maintenance (O&M), and a focus on safety and reliability.”

The company adds that, like an aircraft, the Lynx is a horizontal takeoff and horizontal landing vehicle, but instead of a jet or piston engine, it uses its own fully reusable rocket propulsion system to depart a runway and return safely.

“This approach is unique compared to most other RLVs in development, such as conventional vertical rocket launches and air-launched winged rocket vehicles ‘dropped’ at altitude from a jet powered mothership,” says XCOR.

As of now, work continues on a prototype of the jet, but portions of the aircraft have been released to the public, including testing of Lynx’s supersonic engine last week.

The Lynx’s main engines run with the help of flight weight rocket piston pump hardware and liquid oxygen.

The Lynx’s wing area is sized for landing at moderate touchdown speeds near 90 knots. Lynx is about 9 meters (~30 feet) in length with a double-delta wing that spans about 7.5 meters (24 feet).

When finished and successfully tested, the company will begin marketing the world’s quickest flights on a jet that takes off and lands like the 747s of today.