US hypersonic test lab recreates 1,400°F flight conditions for engine testing
SMRTR summary
The Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) in San Antonio upgraded its HEAT facility to simulate the extreme conditions hypersonic vehicles face — temperatures exceeding 1,400°F and speeds above Mach 4 — without costly real-world flight tests. Engineers installed an ejector system that recreates the low pressure and intense heat of high-altitude flight, allowing safer, cheaper testing of scramjets, ramjets, and rocket thrusters before full-scale deployment.
SMRTR provides this summary for quick context. The original article belongs to Interesting Engineering.
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