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Scramjet Team Receives Aviation Week Excellence Award

  • Published
  • By Tom Brown
  • Propulsion
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio --  The X-51 Scramjet Engine Demonstrator (SED) WaveRider team was honored by Aviation Week at its Program Excellence Awards. The X-51 SED Team includes members of AFRL's Propulsion Directorate, Boeing Phantom Works, and Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne. The team was recognized in the category of System Level R&D/System Development and Demonstration.

Aviation Week's Program Excellence Awards result from an annual evaluation of the industry's top programs, identifying the strongest lessons and practices, then sharing these best practices across the industry.

The X-51 program goal is to demonstrate scramjet engine technology to a Technology Readiness Level of 6 and show that it is ready for transition to weapon systems applications. The program leverages prior investment by DARPA under the Affordable Rapid Response Missile Demonstrator (ARRMD) program.

A modified Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) booster is used to accelerate the vehicle from the launch condition to Mach 4.5, where the scramjet takes over and accelerates the vehicle to cruise conditions. The historic, record-breaking first flight of the X-51 took place on May, 26, 2010, and the next flight is tentatively scheduled for early 2011.