How It Works - UK (2020-02)

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.