Inside The Development Of More Efficient Scramjet Engines

X-51 vehicle
The X-51 vehicle (pictured) was the first to demonstrate a hydrocarbon-­fueled scramjet engine.
Credit: U.S. Air Force
A drop of kerosene sprayed into the combustion chamber of a scramjet engine has a lot of work to do in 1/1,000th of a second. Specifically, each hydrocarbon molecule must be mixed with compressed air, then be exposed to an ignition flame long enough to produce efficient combustion. For decades, U.S...

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