Boeing X-51A Waverider Hypersonic Research Aircraft Family
The Boeing X-51A Waverider was an unmanned hypersonic research aircraft developed to demonstrate sustained air-breathing scramjet propulsion. Released from a B-52, it used a solid rocket booster to reach scramjet ignition conditions and then tested the SJY61 hydrocarbon-fueled engine at approximately Mach 5, establishing a major practical milestone in hypersonic flight research.
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Identity
- Aliases
- X-51AWaveriderWaveRiderX-51
- Family Name
- Boeing X-51A Waverider
- Full Name
- Boeing X-51A Waverider Hypersonic Research Aircraft Family
- Roles
- researchexperimentaltechnology_demonstrator
- Status
- retired
- Type
- aircraft
Details
- Aircraft Specs
- Configuration
- fixed_wing
- Description
- The Boeing X-51A Waverider was an unmanned hypersonic research aircraft developed to demonstrate sustained air-breathing scramjet propulsion. Released from a B-52, it used a solid rocket booster to reach scramjet ignition conditions and then tested the SJY61 hydrocarbon-fueled engine at approximately Mach 5, establishing a major practical milestone in hypersonic flight research.
- First Flight Year
- 2,010
- Manufacturer
- Propulsion Configurations
- Entries
- Count
- 1
- Propulsion System
- Role
- main
- Stage
- airframe
- Variant Notes
- One hydrocarbon-fueled SJY61 supersonic-combustion ramjet integrated into the X-51A cruiser and ignited after solid-rocket-booster acceleration and separation.
- Name
- X-51A SJY61 airframe-integrated scramjet installation
- Notes
- The U.S. Air Force identifies one Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne SJY61 scramjet as the X-51A cruiser powerplant. The X-51A was accelerated by a solid rocket booster before the scramjet ignited, and the cruise engine powered the subsequent hypersonic flight.
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Assets & Meta
- Creation Time
- August 8, 2026 at 08:14:18 UTC
- Updated Time
- September 8, 2026 at 09:04:12 UTC