Taylor Rains and Pete Syme from Business Insider – Reports
European startup Destinus is designing a series of ultra-speedy aircraft capable of reaching Mach 5. Liquid hydrogen combined with jet and rocket engines will allow the plane to cruise at 108,000 feet.
A rendering of a prototype of the Destinus L hypersonic jet. Destinus
Models “Destinus S” and “Destinus L” could connect cities like New York and London in just 90 minutes. The world has not seen a supersonic aircraft since the demise of the Concorde in 2003. The legendary plane connected New York and London in as little as three and a half hours, but several factors including its costly fuel-hungry engines made the Concorde difficult to sustain.
Nevertheless, that hasn’t stopped several aerospace startups from coming up with new and environmentally friendly ideas for super-speedy planes. One of the most well-known is Colorado-based Boom Supersonic, which is making progress on its Overture jet. US carriers United Airlines and American Airlines have already placed orders.
However, there are a few other companies hoping to create an even faster aircraft that can outrun the Overture and the Concorde, including European aircraft manufacturing startup Destinus.
A rendering of a prototype of the Destinus L hypersonic jet. Destinus
Insider spoke with the Destinus team at the Paris Air Show in June to learn more about its hydrogen-powered hypersonic jet — take a look. At only two years old, Destinus has big ambitions for commercial hypersonic flight, which means flying at five times the speed of sound. The company’s revolutionary project is Destinus S — a 25-seater business jet that can fly up to 10,000 kilometers (6,214 miles) and cruise up to 33 kilometers (20 miles).
Twenty miles translates to about 108,000 feet, meaning the jet will soar more than 60,000 feet higher than current airliners. Destinus is also looking to build a widebody Mach 5 passenger jet known as Destinus L.
The aircraft will have the same cruise altitude but can travel up to 22,000 km (13,670) and carry 300-400 people. The company is expecting deliveries for the Destinus S to start between 2032 and 2035, with Destinus L coming in the 2040s — putting both behind Boom’s 2029 timeline.
Using liquid hydrogen for fuel and a combo of turbojet and ramjet engines, the plane would be able to connect cities like London and New York in just 90 minutes. The propulsion system is particularly unique. According to Destinus, the turbojet is paired with afterburners to speed up from subsonic to supersonic…
