SHOW: CBS Evening News 6:30 AM EST CBS November 20, 2004
NASA's successful launch of its scram jet
ANCHORS: THALIA ASSURAS
REPORTERS: BOB ORR
THALIA ASSURAS, anchor:
NASA is hoping the satellite it launched today, called the Swift, will help solve one of the mysteries of the universe. The spacecraft is designed to detect faraway explosions that could signal the birth of black holes.
Another kind of rocket has the Pentagon celebrating a new and daunting record for flight speed. Bob Orr has all the details.
Offscreen Voice #1: Three, two, one, launch. Launch. Launch.
Offscreen Voice #2: Sequence and reset.
BOB ORR reporting:
It's called a scram jet, and it's about to cut through the atmosphere at 10 times the speed of sound.
Offscreen Voice #3: Ignition.
Offscreen Voice #4: Ignition.
ORR: This test over the Pacific Ocean sent the scram jet 111,000 feet into the air, traveling 7,000 miles per hour. Boeing's project manager for the scram jet says it opens a door into startling new futures.
Mr. HARVEY SCHELLENGER (Boeing): We've got an awful lot of ideas out there that promise extreme, sudden leaps in--in our capability to get to space and to go fast in the air. And that's what this does, is opens a door.
ORR: Normal rocket engines must carry oxygen onboard to ignite their fuel supply, adding weight and cost to every launch. The scram jet sucks in oxygen from the atmosphere itself.
Mr. JOHN PIKE (Globalsecurity.org): It's not simply faster than a speeding bullet, it's several times faster than a speeding bullet. Even Superman couldn't catch up with it.
ORR: The Air Force hopes over the next five years to turn the scram jet into a super cruise missile capable of hitting a target within seconds. NASA hopes modified scram jets will replace the aging shuttle fleet and make space exploration less expensive. And as for the dream of building a jet able to take passengers from New York to California in 20 minutes...
Mr. JOEL SITZ (National Aeronautic and Space Administration Project Manager): It took a long time for--once the Wright brothers flew for people to fly across the ocean. It might take that long again for this technology to be applied to a commercial aircraft. But I think someday it will be there. Fifty, 100 years, who knows?
ORR: Ironically, after this week's record-breaking flight, NASA's test program is over. It's now up to private aircraft companies to determine where and how she scram jet will fly the next time it leaves earth. Bob Orr, CBS News, Washington.
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