China Unveils 7,000kph Hypersonic Plane As It Looks To Launch With Passengers In 2025
The tech firm hopes to go even faster in the future, linking some of the world's major cities by just an hour of travel
A tech firm has unveiled plans for a hypersonic plane that will be able to travel at 7,000kph. Have a look for yourself:
The Chinese company Space Transportation hopes to link some of the world's major cities by just an hour of travel.
According to its website, the Tianxing I rocket takes off vertically with a smaller pod filled with passengers attached.
When it reaches the correct altitude, the pod is detached and the rockets return to Earth.
The company has been developing the plane for several years, and it's hoped that it will be able to launch with passengers by 2025.
In animated mock-ups of a proposed flight shared to its website, passengers can be seen checking into a centre in what appears to be Shanghai ahead of their trip to Dubai.
An infograph in the video shows the 6,400km (3,900 miles) journey being made in just an hour.
Speaking about the Tianxing I, Space Transportation said in a statement: "We are developing a winged rocket for high-speed, point-to-point transportation, which is lower in cost than rockets that carry satellites and faster than traditional aircraft."
According to reports, test flights are set to take place next year, with the first uncrewed flight in 2024 and the first crewed flight to launch the following year.
The company is also working on an orbital version of travel by 2030, which would see passengers taken into space before orbiting the planet and returning back to any point on Earth.
According to its website, this spacecraft would be markedly faster, with a capability of travelling at an incredible 10,000kph (6,200mph).
But China isn't alone in the race to develop hypersonic aircraft.
Last year, the US Air Force announced a $60 million contract with a company called Hermeus, instructing them to design and develop a hypersonic prototype in three years that could travel at Mach 5 speeds - around 3,800 mph - with just one engine.
According to the company's website, it could see travel between New York and London cut to just 90 minutes.
It's hoped that they will be able to have passenger flights by 2029.
A statement from Hermeus, which is also working with NASA on the project, said: "Using lessons learned from our time at NewSpace companies, we're developing Mach 5 aircraft to connect people faster and bring much needed innovation to commercial flight.
"At Mach 5, more than twice the speed of the supersonic Concorde, passengers will be able to cross the Atlantic in 90 minutes."
Featured Image Credit: Space TransportationDominic Smithers