Chine Is Building A Factory For Hypersonic Engines

When it comes to hypersonic technologies that allow planes to travel at speeds higher than Mach 5 it seems that Chine is taking it quite seriously. Soon they would like to open a factory that would be building commercially available engines.

An artist's conception of the X-43A Hypersonic Experimental Vehicle, or "Hyper-X" in flight.
By NASA Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The factory is being built by the Institute of Mechanics at the Chinese Academy of Sciences. It will be building many kinds of scramjet engines and while it is a state-owned factory it seems it will provide access to private investors as well. A scramjet is an engine that uses supersonic airflow to get enough oxygen for the combustion to take place. The factory will most likely be making Turbo Rocket Combined Cycle (TRCC) engines made by three modules.

1. A turbocharged jet engine for subsonic speeds
2. A ramjet engine the transition into the scramjet engine
3. A rocket engine for the top speeds

So far there is no information available when exactly will production begin be we can safely assume that especially the Chinese army will want to have hypersonic engines as soon as possible as this technology can provide them with aircraft capable of flying at very long distances and that should also be capable of outmaneuvering existing air-defense systems.

Once the technology for commercially available scramjet engines is available it is also possible that it will change how we fly to space as scramjet engines could be used to reach even such altitudes. China is actually already developing such spacecraft and plans to have them available sometime around the year 2030.

Sources:

• https://www.popsci.com/chinas-hypersonic-engine-factory
• https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/defence/china-successfully-tests-solid-fuel-variable-ramjet-engine/articleshow/59014098.cms

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