Travel faster than the speed of sound Towards the latter part of 2014, Richard Branson has plans to launch Virgin Galactic space venture’s 1st passenger flight. He has also stated that he will now be shifting focus to the development of a supersonic commercial aircraft that will cover the 10,800 km between New York and Tokyo in under an hour. His vision is of an orbital aircraft that would be able to touch speeds of up to 30,000 kph (16,200 knots). But Branson is not the one and only entrepreneur who is seeking means of flying across the globe at the least possible time. Robert Bass, the Texas tycoon has been consistently making very significant investments to support Aerion’s plans of speeding up the process of bringing an innovative and new supersonic business jet into production. Research & Engineering Governments have also been consistently providing their research expertise as well as funds in the range of hundreds of millions of dollars through DARPA and NASA in the United States. In the U.K, a budget in excess of $600M has been allocated for the Hypersonic dream to test and put in use the Reaction Engines to run the Hypersonic aircraft at incredible speed. Also in the race is Spike Aerospace. Earlier this year, this niche company announced that its Mach 1.6 S-512, a 12 to 18 passenger aircraft is still on the draft-board. Besides being a high-tech luxurious and comfortable Hypersonic aircraft. What makes this aircraft interesting is the fact that it has a windowless fuselage. Spike Aerospace has projected that with the cost of $100M taken into consideration, it will be able to recover its investment by selling around 400-500 of these supersonic planes over the next ten years, said Vic Kachoria, the Boston Massachusetts- based Spike Aerospace’s president. He said that on account of this windowless digital cabin, it will still be possible to see outside, but an enhanced view will not be possible. The outside that passengers see won’t be a direct view. Camera Vision Rather, the numerous small cameras mounted on the outside of the aircraft will relay images of the sky outside, which will act like a high-resolution display screen. Those who fear that they will feel claustrophobic in such a “closed” environment should know that very soon, this windowless concept will be the norm rather than the exception. When it comes to increasing the speed quotient, a streamlined fuselage with no windows and fewer supports and spurs is extremely effective. The Time Has Come But there is a lot more to it than just that. Vic Kachoria said that even thou Spike Aerospace is in the lead, when it comes to Hypersonic technology; There is still a significant amount of work to complete the project. At the moment, Spike is evaluating the initial design that they had announced in 2013. The demand for supersonic flight exists and in the forthcoming 5 to 8 years, it is doable. The one hurdle that all these companies will have to face is the new FAA regulations. But after all the initial hiccups, it should be a smooth ride for all of us. Imagine if you could work anywhere in the world and get there within the hour. Just imagine Jack Kandaloo, from New York calling his mom in Australia and saying, I will be home in an hour mom, "what's for tea tonight?" and mom is quietly thinking, “when are they going to be sending him to the moon to work”. !!! Space Travel – Virgin Atlantic Promo Video
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