HyShot
Encyclopedia
HyShot is a research project of The University of Queensland
, Australia
Centre for Hypersonics, to demonstrate the possibility of supersonic combustion under flight conditions and compare the results of shock tunnel experiments.
designed by the British company QinetiQ
http://www.uq.edu.au/news/index.html?article=2350, and the successful launch of one engine designed by the University of Queensland. Each combustion unit is launched on the nose of a Terrier
-Orion Mk70 sounding rocket
on a high ballistic
trajectory, reaching altitudes of approximately 330 km. The rocket is rotated to face the ground, and the combustion unit ignited for a period of 6–10 seconds while falling between 35 km and 23 km at around Mach
7.6. The system is not designed to produce thrust.
The carrier rocket for the HyShot experiments was composed of a RIM-2 Terrier
first stage (6 second burn, 4000 km/h) and an Orion second stage (26 second burn, 8600 km/h, 56 km altitude). A fairing over the payload was then jettisoned. The package then coasted to an altitude of around 300 km. Cold gas nitrogen
attitude control thrusters
were used to re-orient the payload for atmospheric reentry
. The experiments each lasted for some 5 seconds as the payload descended between approximately 35 and 23 kilometers altitude, when hydrogen
fuel was fed to the scramjet. Telemetry
reported results to receivers on the ground for later analysis. The payload landed about 400 km down range from the launch site, at which time its temperature was still expected to be about 300 degrees Celsius, which may be enough to cause a small brush fire and thereby make spotting and recovery easier even though a radio beacon was in the payload.
The team continue to work as part of the Australian Hypersonics Initiative, a joint program of The University of Queensland
, the Australian National University
and the University of New South Wales
' Australian Defence Force Academy
campus, the governments of Queensland
and South Australia
and the Australian Defence Department
.
The Hyshot program spawned the HyCAUSE (Hypersonic Collaborative Australian/United States Experiment) programhttp://www.uq.edu.au/news/?article=5546: a collaborative effort between the United States’ Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and Australia's Defence Science and Technology Organisation
(DSTO), also representing the research collaborators in the Australian Hypersonics Initiative (AHI)http://www.dsto.defence.gov.au/news/5118/.
University of Queensland
The University of Queensland, also known as UQ, is a public university located in state of Queensland, Australia. Founded in 1909, it is the oldest and largest university in Queensland and the fifth oldest in the nation...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
Centre for Hypersonics, to demonstrate the possibility of supersonic combustion under flight conditions and compare the results of shock tunnel experiments.
Overview
The project has involved one launch of the scramjetScramjet
A scramjet is a variant of a ramjet airbreathing jet engine in which combustion takes place in supersonic airflow...
designed by the British company QinetiQ
QinetiQ
Qinetiq is a British global defence technology company, formed from the greater part of the former UK government agency, Defence Evaluation and Research Agency , when it was split up in June 2001...
http://www.uq.edu.au/news/index.html?article=2350, and the successful launch of one engine designed by the University of Queensland. Each combustion unit is launched on the nose of a Terrier
RIM-2 Terrier
The Convair RIM-2 Terrier was a two-stage medium-range naval surface-to-air missile , and was among the earliest surface-to-air missiles to equip United States Navy ships. Originally, the Terrier had a launch thrust of 23 kN , and weight of 1392 kg...
-Orion Mk70 sounding rocket
Sounding rocket
A sounding rocket, sometimes called a research rocket, is an instrument-carrying rocket designed to take measurements and perform scientific experiments during its sub-orbital flight. The origin of the term comes from nautical vocabulary, where to sound is to throw a weighted line from a ship into...
on a high ballistic
Ballistics
Ballistics is the science of mechanics that deals with the flight, behavior, and effects of projectiles, especially bullets, gravity bombs, rockets, or the like; the science or art of designing and accelerating projectiles so as to achieve a desired performance.A ballistic body is a body which is...
trajectory, reaching altitudes of approximately 330 km. The rocket is rotated to face the ground, and the combustion unit ignited for a period of 6–10 seconds while falling between 35 km and 23 km at around Mach
Mach number
Mach number is the speed of an object moving through air, or any other fluid substance, divided by the speed of sound as it is in that substance for its particular physical conditions, including those of temperature and pressure...
7.6. The system is not designed to produce thrust.
- The first HyShot flight was on 30 October 2001.
- The first successful launch (Hyshot II) was of a University of Queensland scramjet on 30 July 2002. It is believed by many to be the first successful flight of a scramjetScramjetA scramjet is a variant of a ramjet airbreathing jet engine in which combustion takes place in supersonic airflow...
engine, although some dispute this and point primarily to earlier tests by RussiaRussiaRussia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n scientists. - A second successful flight (HyShot III) using a QinetiQQinetiQQinetiq is a British global defence technology company, formed from the greater part of the former UK government agency, Defence Evaluation and Research Agency , when it was split up in June 2001...
scramjet was achieved on 25 March 2006.http://www.uq.edu.au/news/index.html?article=9258 The later QinetiQ prototype is cylindrical with four stainless steel combustors around the outside. The aerodynamics of the vehicle is improved by this arrangement but it was expensive to manufacture. - The HyShot IV flight on 30 March 2006 launched successfully, and telemetry was received, however it is believed that the scramjet did not function as expected. Data analysis is required to confirm what occurred. http://www.uq.edu.au/news/index.html?article=9303
- HyCAUSE was launched on 15 June 2007. (The HyCAUSE experiment differed from the HyShot launches in that a Talos-Castor combination was used for launch and the target Mach number was 10.)
The carrier rocket for the HyShot experiments was composed of a RIM-2 Terrier
RIM-2 Terrier
The Convair RIM-2 Terrier was a two-stage medium-range naval surface-to-air missile , and was among the earliest surface-to-air missiles to equip United States Navy ships. Originally, the Terrier had a launch thrust of 23 kN , and weight of 1392 kg...
first stage (6 second burn, 4000 km/h) and an Orion second stage (26 second burn, 8600 km/h, 56 km altitude). A fairing over the payload was then jettisoned. The package then coasted to an altitude of around 300 km. Cold gas nitrogen
Nitrogen
Nitrogen is a chemical element that has the symbol N, atomic number of 7 and atomic mass 14.00674 u. Elemental nitrogen is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, and mostly inert diatomic gas at standard conditions, constituting 78.08% by volume of Earth's atmosphere...
attitude control thrusters
Spacecraft propulsion
Spacecraft propulsion is any method used to accelerate spacecraft and artificial satellites. There are many different methods. Each method has drawbacks and advantages, and spacecraft propulsion is an active area of research. However, most spacecraft today are propelled by forcing a gas from the...
were used to re-orient the payload for atmospheric reentry
Atmospheric reentry
Atmospheric entry is the movement of human-made or natural objects as they enter the atmosphere of a celestial body from outer space—in the case of Earth from an altitude above the Kármán Line,...
. The experiments each lasted for some 5 seconds as the payload descended between approximately 35 and 23 kilometers altitude, when hydrogen
Hydrogen
Hydrogen is the chemical element with atomic number 1. It is represented by the symbol H. With an average atomic weight of , hydrogen is the lightest and most abundant chemical element, constituting roughly 75% of the Universe's chemical elemental mass. Stars in the main sequence are mainly...
fuel was fed to the scramjet. Telemetry
Telemetry
Telemetry is a technology that allows measurements to be made at a distance, usually via radio wave transmission and reception of the information. The word is derived from Greek roots: tele = remote, and metron = measure...
reported results to receivers on the ground for later analysis. The payload landed about 400 km down range from the launch site, at which time its temperature was still expected to be about 300 degrees Celsius, which may be enough to cause a small brush fire and thereby make spotting and recovery easier even though a radio beacon was in the payload.
The team continue to work as part of the Australian Hypersonics Initiative, a joint program of The University of Queensland
University of Queensland
The University of Queensland, also known as UQ, is a public university located in state of Queensland, Australia. Founded in 1909, it is the oldest and largest university in Queensland and the fifth oldest in the nation...
, the Australian National University
Australian National University
The Australian National University is a teaching and research university located in the Australian capital, Canberra.As of 2009, the ANU employs 3,945 administrative staff who teach approximately 10,000 undergraduates, and 7,500 postgraduate students...
and the University of New South Wales
University of New South Wales
The University of New South Wales , is a research-focused university based in Kensington, a suburb in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
' Australian Defence Force Academy
Australian Defence Force Academy
The Australian Defence Force Academy is a tri-service military Academy that provides military and tertiary academic education for junior officers of the Australian Defence Force in the Royal Australian Navy , Australian Army and Royal Australian Air Force .Tertiary education is provided by the...
campus, the governments of Queensland
Government of Queensland
The Government of Queensland is commonly known as the "Queensland Government".The form of the Government of Queensland is prescribed in its Constitution, which dates from 1859, although it has been amended many times since then...
and South Australia
Government of South Australia
The form of the Government of South Australia is prescribed in its constitution, which dates from 1856, although it has been amended many times since then...
and the Australian Defence Department
Australian Defence Force
The Australian Defence Force is the military organisation responsible for the defence of Australia. It consists of the Royal Australian Navy , Australian Army, Royal Australian Air Force and a number of 'tri-service' units...
.
The Hyshot program spawned the HyCAUSE (Hypersonic Collaborative Australian/United States Experiment) programhttp://www.uq.edu.au/news/?article=5546: a collaborative effort between the United States’ Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and Australia's Defence Science and Technology Organisation
Defence Science and Technology Organisation
The Defence Science and Technology Organisation is a branch of the Australian Department of Defence which researches and develops technologies for use in the Australian defence industry....
(DSTO), also representing the research collaborators in the Australian Hypersonics Initiative (AHI)http://www.dsto.defence.gov.au/news/5118/.
External links
- Press release about Hyshot launch
- Hyshot images
- Centre for Hypersonics - HyShot Scramjet Test Programme