Hypersonic Jet: Sydney to London in just 49 minutes

Hypersonic aircraft will take off on a test flight at a blistering speed from California later this week.
 
The experimental, arrowhead-shaped plane can reach a "speed of almost 21000 km/hr while withstanding temperatures of almost 2000 degrees, hotter than the melting point of steel", reports Sydney Morning Herald.
 
According to media reports, the aircraft - Falcon Hypersonic Technology Vehicle 2 - will be launched into the Earth's atmosphere aboard an eight-story Minotaur IV rocket, made by Orbital Sciences Corp.
 
Post-launch, the Falcon will dislodge from the rocket, speed back towards earth, level out and glide above the Pacific at 20 times the speed of sound.
 
The aircraft is expected to crash and sink about 30 minutes after the launch.
 
At its maximum speed, the aircraft could travel the 17,000 kilometres between London and Sydney in about 49 minutes, said the daily.
 
The Falcon is an reportedly an experiment to test a new technology that would provide the Pentagon a vehicle capable of delivering a “prompt global strike” anywhere in the world in less than an hour.

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