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The X-51A will be an air-launched expendable missile powered by a hydrocarbon-fueled scramjet engine. This engine has been in development by P&W since at least 2000 under the AFRL's HySET (Hypersonic Scramjet Engine Technology) program, a part of the USAF's overall HyTech (Hypersonic Technology) effort. A prototype, the GDE-1 (Ground Demonstration Engine 1), has already been ground-tested between September 2002 and June 2003 at simulated air speeds between Mach 4.5 and 6.5. Originally the AFRL had planned to fly the P&W engine on NASA's X-43C vehicle, but that program was cancelled in March 2004. It's possible that the SED-WR program was started early to have a follow-on project up and running in the case of a (possibly anticipated) cancellation of the X-43C.
The X-51A will be launched by a B-52 at about 10700 m (35000 ft), and accelerated to the Mach 4.5 scramjet ignition speed by the solid-propellant rocket motor of a surplus MGM-140 ATACMS missile. Estimated target speed for the X-51A is between Mach 6 and 7. The first flight is tentatively scheduled for late 2008, but the total number of planned flights (and number of vehicles to be built) has not been announced.
The X-51A will be launched by a B-52 at about 10700 m (35000 ft), and accelerated to the Mach 4.5 scramjet ignition speed by the solid-propellant rocket motor of a surplus MGM-140 ATACMS missile. Estimated target speed for the X-51A is between Mach 6 and 7. The first flight is tentatively scheduled for late 2008, but the total number of planned flights (and number of vehicles to be built) has not been announced.
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