A Chinese company is developing a supersonic jet capable of traveling from New York to China in just one hour (via Robb Report). The company behind the jet is Space Transportation. It says that it is developing a “rocket with wings”, which will work for space tourism and point-to-point travel.
A CHINESE COMPANY IS DEVELOPING A SUPERSONIC JET WITH UNREAL TRAVEL TIMES
SPACE TRANSPORTATION SAYS THAT ITS JET WILL BE LOWER COST THAN THE ROCKETS THAT ARE USED TO CARRY SATELLITES INTO SPACE. IT WILL ALSO BE MUCH FASTER THAN TRADITIONAL PLANES.
To showcase the speed it hopes to achieve, Space Transportation has included a video on its website. In the video, several passengers climb aboard the supersonic jet. The jet then turns vertically towards the sky and launches into the air. After several seconds of flight, the launch boosters fall away, returning safely to the launch pad where they can be used again later.
The jet then continues its trek through the clouds and its suborbital journey, eventually traveling 7,000KM to its destination in the span of 60 minutes. The craft shown in the video is impressive, and the speed at which it travels is even more impressive.
Space Transport plans to run ground tests by 2023. It hopes to commence a first flight of the supersonic jet in 2024, and a crewed flight later in 2025. These plans are ambitious, but the company isn’t stopping there. It also says that it hopes to run a test flight of a crewed space vehicle by 2030.
