INVICTUS - Europe's new hypersonic test platform (hydrogen fueled, Mach 5 "aerospace vehicle"/"spaceplane")

[OKIsItJustMe]

https://www.esa.int/Enabling_Support/Space_Engineering_Technology/Shaping_the_Future/INVICTUS_Europe_s_new_hypersonic_test_platform

INVICTUS – Europe’s new hypersonic test platform
16/07/2025

ESA / Enabling & Support / Space Engineering & Technology / Shaping the Future

The European Space Agency (ESA) and UK-based Frazer-Nash have kicked off INVICTUS, a research programme with the goal of developing hypersonic technologies applicable to future reusable vehicles capable of horizontal launch.

INVICTUS is funded through ESA’s General Support Technology Programme (GSTP) and Technology Development Element (TDE) and is a fully reusable experimental aerospace vehicle capable of flying at Mach 5 (five times the speed of sound).

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“By mastering reusable, air-breathing propulsion, we are laying the foundation for aircraft that take off like planes and reach orbit like rockets – revolutionising both terrestrial and orbital transportation. This is where dual-use innovation meets strategic autonomy.”

Tony Forsythe, Head of Space technology at the UK Space Agency, said: “This exciting project, made possible by our investments in the European Space Agency, has significant potential to build on advanced cooling and hypersonic propulsion technology developed by UK engineers over many years. We look forward to seeing how the work develops and the opportunity it presents for boosting economic growth and national security.”

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[markodochartaigh]

1. Wow.

Maybe, if we are good little consumers, one of our oiligarchs will buy one of those for us! With our tax dollars of course.

[OKIsItJustMe]

2. NASA's X-59 Quiet Supersonic Aircraft Begins Taxi Tests

Not quite what you’re looking for:
https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/nasas-x-59-quiet-supersonic-aircraft-begins-taxi-tests/

NASA’s X-59 Quiet Supersonic Aircraft Begins Taxi Tests

Nicolas Cholula
NASA Armstrong Public Affairs Specialist

JUL 17, 2025

NASA’s X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft has officially begun taxi tests, marking the first time this one-of-a-kind experimental aircraft has moved under its own power.

NASA test pilot Nils Larson and the X-59 team, made up of NASA and contractor Lockheed Martin personnel, completed the aircraft’s first low-speed taxi test at U.S. Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, California, on July 10, 2025.

The taxiing represents the X-59’s last series of ground tests before first flight. Over the coming weeks, the aircraft will gradually increase its speed, leading up to a high-speed taxi test that will take the aircraft just short of the point where it would take off.

During the low-speed tests, engineers and flight crews monitored how the X-59 handled as it moved across the runway, working to validate critical systems like steering and braking. These checks help ensure the aircraft’s stability and control across a range of conditions, giving pilots and engineers confidence that all systems are functioning as expected.

The X-59 is the centerpiece of NASA’s Quesst mission, which aims to demonstrate quiet supersonic flight by reducing the loud sonic boom to a quieter “thump.” Data gathered from the X-59 will be shared with U.S. and international regulators to inform the establishment of new, data-driven acceptable noise thresholds related to supersonic commercial flight over land.

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