Photo: Hypersonix
Back in June the world learned of a new solid rocket engine slowly making its way into the spotlight. It's called Zeus and it was specifically designed to power a new breed of hypersonic vehicles.
The engine is being developed by American defense contractor Kratos, and its exact specs are not known at the moment, as it just completed its first static test. But that isn't stopping the company from looking for potential uses for it already, and the first confirmed application of the Zeus will be in something called DART AE.
The name might be familiar as we've discussed it before. DART is a product of an Australian company called Hypersonix and it is in essence a 3D-printed hypersonic drone of sorts.
Hypersonix officially calls the DART AE a hydrogen-fuelled scramjet technology demonstrator, and that's because the initial plans for the vehicle are for it to use a hydrogen-powered scramjet rocket engine called Spartan.
Kratos has been involved in the development of the DART for a while now and it seems that at least for uses in the hands of the Americans the vehicle will be using the Zeus engine instead.
The development was announced this week by the two companies as a means to provide as many choices for potential customers (read the military) as possible.
Under the agreement, Kratos could take delivery of 20 DARTs and equip them with the engine, ending up with a "high cadence, high availability" super-fast vehicle.
Potential uses for this system are limitless, especially for the military which is constantly seeking to test and incorporate new and better hypersonic capabilities. The DART, which is three meters long (almost 10 feet) and weighs 300 kg (661 pounds), is supposed to deliver just that.
As per the initial specs released by Hypersonix, when combined with the Spartan engine the DART should be capable of reaching speeds of Mach 7 (5,370 mph/8,642 kph) and fly for as much as 500 km (311 miles) in its initial stages. All that gives us a taste of what the Zeus will likely be capable of as well.
Older plans were for the tech to be truly flight tested with the original powerplant this year, as thousands of ground firings have already been conducted, and so were 11 sub-orbital flights. But here we are in August already and not much happened on this front.
On its side of the aisle Kratos doesn't seem ready for something tangible with the DART either, as it still has some testing to do with the Zeus before actually integrating it into the drone.
Neither of the two companies said when we should expect the Australia-made hypersonic rocket to take off over the U.S. thanks to a new, American-made rocket engine.
The name might be familiar as we've discussed it before. DART is a product of an Australian company called Hypersonix and it is in essence a 3D-printed hypersonic drone of sorts.
Hypersonix officially calls the DART AE a hydrogen-fuelled scramjet technology demonstrator, and that's because the initial plans for the vehicle are for it to use a hydrogen-powered scramjet rocket engine called Spartan.
Kratos has been involved in the development of the DART for a while now and it seems that at least for uses in the hands of the Americans the vehicle will be using the Zeus engine instead.
The development was announced this week by the two companies as a means to provide as many choices for potential customers (read the military) as possible.
Under the agreement, Kratos could take delivery of 20 DARTs and equip them with the engine, ending up with a "high cadence, high availability" super-fast vehicle.
Potential uses for this system are limitless, especially for the military which is constantly seeking to test and incorporate new and better hypersonic capabilities. The DART, which is three meters long (almost 10 feet) and weighs 300 kg (661 pounds), is supposed to deliver just that.
As per the initial specs released by Hypersonix, when combined with the Spartan engine the DART should be capable of reaching speeds of Mach 7 (5,370 mph/8,642 kph) and fly for as much as 500 km (311 miles) in its initial stages. All that gives us a taste of what the Zeus will likely be capable of as well.
Older plans were for the tech to be truly flight tested with the original powerplant this year, as thousands of ground firings have already been conducted, and so were 11 sub-orbital flights. But here we are in August already and not much happened on this front.
On its side of the aisle Kratos doesn't seem ready for something tangible with the DART either, as it still has some testing to do with the Zeus before actually integrating it into the drone.
Neither of the two companies said when we should expect the Australia-made hypersonic rocket to take off over the U.S. thanks to a new, American-made rocket engine.
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