http://www.howitworksdaily.com How It Works 037
DIDYOUKNOW?Themostfamous non-lethal weapon, the taser, was patented by NASA researcher Jack Cover in 1974
HYPERSONIC
STRIKE PLANE
Bythe1960srocketscouldtravelathy personicspeeds– aboveMach5,orfivetimesthe
speedofsound– butachiev ingsuchspeedswitha jet-poweredaircrafthasproved
elusive,posinghugechallengesforaerodynamics,enginedesignandmaterials
technolog y.Theseneedtobeovercomeif theUSistomeetits‘PromptGlobalStrike’
ob ckan e worldwithinanhour.LockheedMartin’sSR-72 7
conceptisanattempttorisetothischallenge.
A sci-fifavourite,thespace-basedweaponhasneverquitegotoffthegroundinthe
realworld.That’snotforwantofideasthough.Peoplehaveoftenconsideredputting
laserweaponsintoorbit,eithertodestroyotherspacecraftorattacktargetson
Earth.Anotherfuturistic-soundingoptionis theelectromagneticrailgun,using
electricfieldsratherthangunpowdertoacceleratea projectile.A space-based
versioncapableofvaporisinga ballisticmissileusingshellsfiredatfourkilometres
persecondwasproposedwaybackin1986.Evenweirderis theconceptof‘kinetic
bombardment’– essentiallyanartificialmeteorstorminwhichheavytungstenrods,
irreverentlydubbed‘rodsfromGod’,wouldraindownfroma satelliteontoa
designatedtargetsuchasanairfieldorheavilydefendedbuilding.
WEAPONS IN ORBIT?
SCAN HERE
AR ZONE!
Artist’s impression of a
satellite firing a laser weapon
at a target on Earth
©Getty
Currently only a concept on
paper, the SR-72 might see
service in the 2030s
© Lockheed Martin
Hybridpropulsionsystem
Twodifferentenginesareused,allowing
theSR-72toaccelerateallthewayfrom
a standstilltoMach6.
Airflowsplitter
Thisdirectsincomingairtothe
turbojetatlowerspeeds,then
flipstotheramjetaboveMach3.
Turbojet
A conventionaljetenginedrawsair
intothecombustionchamberwith
theaidofrotatingcompressorblades.
Ramjet
AboveMach3 theaircraft’sspeed
is enoughtocompresstheairflow
withouttheneedformovingparts.
Exhaustnozzle
Whicheverengineis used,theresultis a
superheatedstreamofexhaustgas,
pushingtheaircraftforwardslikea rocket.
Heat-resistantmaterials
AboveMach5,aerodynamicheating
wouldmeltanordinarymetallic
airframe,socarboncompositesand
ceramicsareusedinstead.