The Australian company Hypersonix Launch Systems has obtained 46 million dollars of financing for the development of the World’s first hydrogen-powered reusable hypersonic aircraft. DART AEthe first prototype, will be capable of reaching speeds of up to Mach 12; that is, twelve times the speed of sound or 14,701 kilometers per hour. Australian public investment organizations and a group of international investors led by the British company participate in the financing round. High Tor Capitalspecialized in cutting-edge defense technologies, together with the European saab and the Polish group RKKVC as co-investors. Australia’s public participation responds to the country’s interest in excelling in hypersonic flight and developing a strong aerospace industry.
Hypersonix – based in Brisbane with a team of 45 employees specializing in engineering, advanced manufacturing and testing – was founded in 2019 by Michael Smartformer researcher at the POTprofessor of the University of Queensland and current technology director of the company. Its purpose is to develop a new generation of sustainable, high-performance flight systems powered by green hydrogen.
The SPARTAN scramjet engine
The core of its platform is the SPARTAN scramjet enginecompletely 3D printed and capable of reaching Mach 12. A scramjet engine is a type of jet engine designed to fly at hypersonic speeds, exceeding Mach 5, and uses oxygen from the atmosphere to fuel combustion. It has no moving parts and, unlike conventional engines, takes advantage of the high speed of the missile to force compression of incoming air before combustionallowing sustained flight at hypersonic speeds without the need for turbines or compressors.
Typically, engines of this type use kerosene, but SPARTAN burns green hydrogen, which generates zero carbon emissions. This name refers to the origin of fuelnot only to its composition. Most of today’s hydrogen is gray or blue, generated from natural gas or coal, releasing large amounts of CO₂, while green is produced by electrolysis of water using electricity from renewable sourcessuch as solar or wind. No greenhouse gases are emitted in this process.
‘SPARTAN is more than a propulsion system; is a breakthrough in reusable hypersonic flight. What we are building is a sovereign, clean, profitable platform designed for the real world‘, explained Smart.
The first flight of the DART AE will take place before the end of the year
The funds from this round will be used to finance the next flight of the DART AEa hypersonic vehicle 3.5 meters powered by the SPARTAN engine and backed by POT and the Pentagon.
The flight will be carried out within the framework of the program HyCAT of the US Department of Defensemanaged by the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU)which seeks to accelerate the adoption of commercial technologies by the US military. Hypersonix was the first company selected under the HyCAT initiative, among more than 60 applicants.
DART AE will take off aboard the rocket HASTE of Rocket Lab from the NASA facility in Wallops, Virginia, later this year. It is expected to achieve the world’s first sustained hypersonic flight powered by green hydrogen.
The person in charge of the program, commander Ryan Weeddescribes the project as ‘a paradigm shift: see the hypersonic realm as a space for aircraft, not just for missiles and weapons‘.
VISR, Hypersonix’s second hypersonic aircraft, will use 4 SPARTAN engines
Smart added that the funds will also be used to expand advanced manufacturing in Queensland and develop the company’s second aircraft, VISRa reusable platform 8 meters for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) missions, rapid payload delivery and testing of space systems. The VISR will have four SPARTAN engines and will be built with high temperature ceramic compounds.
For Smart, Hypersonix represents the culmination of decades of scramjet propulsion research. After his time at NASA and his work leading hypersonic propulsion research at the University of Queensland, he co-founded the company to translate academic theory to operational aerospace systems.
Smart stated that the company’s goal is not only to fly faster, but Redefine how hypersonic systems are designed and tested. ‘The ability to fly frequently and at low cost is the key to unlocking hypersonic potential in both the military and commercial spheres,’ he noted.