Updated 30 July 2002, 14.31

			Fact File
	Jet facts
		Fastest passenger jet right now is Concorde
		It does twice the speed of sound
		Scramjet goes 4 times faster at 8,000kms an hour!

One day it could be the fastest passenger jet to ever take to the skies.

A test flight in October 2001 was a disaster when the rocket crashed back to Earth.

Launching satellites

This time the hypersonic engine was strapped to a rocket and blasted 300 kilometres (190 miles) into the sky from the Australian desert.

Scramjets have no moving parts and grab the oxygen they need to burn their fuel from the atmosphere.

The first thing it will probably be used for is launching communications satellites into orbit.

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Past Stories
	Supersonic rocket fails launch test