Japan to resume critical supersonic jet test
The Associated Press
TUESDAY, AUGUST 23, 2005
TOKYO Japan's space agency plans to launch an arrow-shaped airplane at
twice the speed of sound high over the Australian outback as early as next
month in a crucial test of the country's push to develop a supersonic successor
to the retired Concorde.
The test follows a three-year hiatus since the first experimental flight
of the unmanned aircraft, dubbed the next-generation supersonic transport,
prematurely separated from its booster rocket and crashed into the desert.
''We've made some improvements so that won't happen again,'' Takaaki
Akuto, a spokesman for the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, said Tuesday in
Tokyo. ''This is a pretty important test.''
A successful mission will pave the way for additional experiments as JAXA
aims to develop a plane that can carry 300 passengers at Mach 2, or twice the
speed of sound, making the run from Tokyo to Los Angeles in about four hours.
It will also underpin a June agreement between Japan and France to jointly
research such a plane over the next three years.
JAXA will launch the experimental craft, piggybacked on a rocket, at
Australia's Woomera test range between Sept. 15 and Oct. 15, Akuto said. The
rocket will carry the plane to an altitude of 20 kilometers (12.4 miles) before
releasing it at a speed of Mach 2 to collect information about the plane's
aerodynamics. The craft will float back to earth by parachute after the 15
minute flight.
If the 1.1 billion yen (US$10 million; ?8.18 million) experiment works,
Japan's space agency plans to follow up with similar tests of a jet-powered
craft, Kyodo News Agency reported.
Japanese and French defense contractors and engineering companies,
including Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. and Airbus parent European
Aeronautic Defence and Space Co., agreed earlier this summer to split an annual
research budget of about $1.84 million over the next three years to develop a
faster-than-sound plane.
A breakthrough in supersonic flight could help Japan leapfrog ahead in
the aerospace field. The country, which does much of parts manufacturing for
U.S.-based Boeing Co., has only a limited domestic airplane industry.
Among the hurdles are two difficulties that plagued the Concorde,
jet-engine noise and high fuel consumption. Japan has already successfully
tested an engine that can theoretically reach speeds of up to mach 5.5, or more
than five times the speed of sound.
Japanese companies slated to participate in the French joint venture
include Japan Aircraft Development Corp., a non-profit consortium; government's
space agency Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries,
Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd., Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. and
Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries Co.
French companies will be European Aeronautic Defence and Space and Safran
Group, formerly Snecma-Sagem.
The Concorde first flew in 1969 and became a symbol of French and
European industrial acumen. But the planes were retired from commercial service
in October 2003, never having recouped the billions of tax dollars invested in
them.
The Concorde exploded in flames after takeoff from Charles de Gaulle
airport near Paris on July 25, 2000, and slammed into a hotel. The accident,
which killed the 109 people on board, presaged an end to the career of the
sleek but costly supersonic aircraft.
Japan hopes to have a successor making regular flights by 2020.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/08/23/asia/web.0823japan.php
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