European aerospace company Destinus has developed a hypersonic hydrogen-powered passenger jet that can reduce the flight time between the US and Australia from over 17 hours to just under four hours, according to hydrogen-central.com.
Destinus claims the jet – half rocket, half aircraft – would be nett-zero carbon, only emitting heat and water vapour.
IOL reports that the jet prototype has been undergoing tests for the last couple of years and that the second protype, Eiger, completed a successful test fight in Munich at the end of last year.
The aircraft can travel at Mach 5 and above – five times the speed of sound. The hypersonic aircraft uses hydrogen-fuelled air-breathing turbojet engines for take-off and landing, with a separate ramjet rocket engine to take it to hypersonic speeds.
The company recently received its share of two grants worth €27 million (R557m) from the Spanish Ministry of Science: the first to help fund the development of a hydrogen engine test facility near Madrid housing the prototype aircraft, and the second to fund research into liquid hydrogen-powered propulsion systems.
The company’s first aircraft, which would hold 25 passengers, is expected to be ready by 2030.
