A NEW design has been unveiled for a hypersonic jet that would get passengers from London to New York in just 90 minutes.
Swiss startup Destinus has ambitions of taking flyers from Europe to Australia in just four hours.
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The company was founded by Russian physicist and entrepreneur Mikhail Kokorich.
Kokorich developed Destinus to advance hydrogen-powered aircrafts that can travel at Mach 5 and above.
Mach 1 is the equivalent of 761 miles-per-hour – and Mach 5 is around five times the speed of sound.
Such speeds mean that passengers could fly across the pond from New York to London in under two hours.
To make this possible, the aircraft would need to travel at altitudes of over 31 miles or 163,680 feet.
To put that figure into context, that is right around the upper edge of the Earth’s atmosphere.
HOW WOULD THIS WORK?
A hypersonic aircraft would use hydrogen-fueled turbojet engines for takeoff and landing.
However, a separate ramjet rocket engine would propel the aircraft to hypersonic speeds.
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“Our hypersonic airplanes combine the most advanced aerospace technologies,” Destinus said on its website.
“The long-range and high-speed capabilities, enabled by hydrogen as a fuel, will open new flight paths for cargo and passenger transportation anywhere on Earth.”
The startup also claims that by using hydrogen to power its aircraft, it would emit no carbon: only heat and water vapor.
Destinus’ first aircraft, which could fit approximately 25 passengers, is expected to be ready by 2030.
Jets of the future
Destinus is not the only aviation company to unveil designs for supersonic jets of the future.
Hyper Sting is a concept plane that could whisk passengers from London to New York City in just 80 minutes in the near future.
The plane would travel at 2,486mph – twice as fast as the Concorde.
Measuring 328 feet long with a 168-foot wingspan, the aircraft is also nearly twice its size.
Spanish designer Oscar Viñals, who is behind its mock-ups, said 170 passengers could enjoy travel aboard the Hyper Sting.
Meanwhile, aviation company Boom Supersonic revealed mockups last year of its Overture aircraft at the Farnborough International Airshow.
The jet concept featured four engines, a new fuselage, and fewer passenger seats than traditional aircraft.
Boom Supersonic claims Overture will be able to fly from New York to London in just 3.5 hours.
Specifically, Overture will be able to cruise at Mach 1.7 over water and just under Mach 1 over land.
“Aviation has not seen a giant leap in decades,” Boom founder and CEO Blake Scholl said in a statement.
