NASA is focusing on the development of vehicles capable of traveling at hypersonic speeds, faster than five times the speed of sound. The goal is to better understand the fundamental science of hypersonics and apply this knowledge to develop point-to-point and space access hypersonic vehicles. These vehicles would use airbreathing engines that utilize oxygen in the atmosphere. NASA envisions creating reusable hypersonic vehicles with efficient engines for routine flights around the world.
The vision of NASA is to enable routine, reusable airbreathing hypersonic flight. Their mission is to advance core capabilities and critical technologies necessary for mastering hypersonic flight in order to support U.S. supremacy in hypersonics. NASA’s approach involves conducting both fundamental and applied research to enable a wide range of hypersonic systems and missions.
To address the challenges of hypersonic flight, NASA maintains unique facilities, laboratories, and subject matter experts who conduct research in various areas. The Hypersonic Technology project collaborates closely with partners in industry, academia, and other government agencies to validate computational models using relevant data sets. These partnerships are essential to advancing the state of the art in hypersonic flight and leveraging NASA’s expertise, facilities, and tools.
NASA plans to develop enabling technologies for a first-generation reusable airbreathing vehicle capable of cruising at hypersonic speeds within the next decade. This work will support potential emerging markets in high-speed flight. By 2050, NASA aims to develop a next-generation reusable hypersonic vehicle that could serve as the first stage in a two-stage space access vehicle.
