alt Hacker NewsThere's been progress on scramjets for cruise missions. For acceleration missions, like launchers, scramjets make no sense at all.
There's been progress on scramjets for cruise missions. For acceleration missions, like launchers, scramjets make no sense at all.
That really depends on how fast you can cruise. High speed scramjets above mach 15 will make space missions possible. The craft will be at the sufficient height and just enough speed, so that a rocket engine won't have to add too much deltav. Scramjets are still in their infancy. There are already developments on for variable-geometry multi-mode ramjets for this purpose.
PS: I have seen early-stage (but successfully tested) scramjets being developed for this purpose.