MARCH SCRAMJET FLIGHT IN GUINNESS RECORDS BOOK.

Byline: Jim Skeen Staff Writer

EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE - Guinness World Records in its 2006 edition will recognize the March 27 flight of NASA's X-43A, which hits speeds approaching 5,000 mph, as a world speed record for a jet-powered aircraft.

During a flight over the Pacific Ocean, the unpiloted, 12-foot-long aircraft flew at Mach 6.83, nearly seven times the speed of sound. The previous record for an ``air-breathing'' - not rocket-powered - craft was held by a ramjet-powered missile, which achieved slightly more than Mach 5.

The X-43A was powered by an experimental scramjet engine, which draws oxygen from the atmosphere for combustion rather than carrying it like a rocket ship.

``Operating an atmospheric vehicle at almost Mach 7 is impressive enough, but to be able to use oxygen from the air, instead of a fuel tank, as it screams into the engine intakes at 5,000 mph is a mind-boggling technical achievement,'' said Guinness World Records science editor David Hawksett. ``It's wonderful to see scramjet technology finally begin to take off.''

The accomplishment will be included in the 2006 Guinness World Records book, set for release this time next year, as follows:

``On 27 March 2004, NASA's unmanned Hyper-X (X-43A) airplane reached Mach 6.83, almost seven times the speed of sound. The X-43A was boosted to an altitude of 29,000 m (95,000 ft) by a Pegasus rocket launched from beneath a B52-B aircraft. The revolutionary 'scramjet' aircraft then burned its engine for around 11 seconds during flight over the Pacific Ocean.''

That record could be smashed this fall, however, as NASA is planning to fly another X-43A aircraft at speeds of over 7,000 mph. The next flight is being planned for October and, as the last one, will originate from NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center.

The program is conducted by NASA's Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate with the NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, Va., as lead center with responsibility for hypersonic technology development and NASA Dryden Flight Research Center handling the flight research and testing.