The future of flight : Next generation of air travel

The supersonic, bidirectional flying wing idea comes from a team headed by Ge-Cheng Zha, an aerospace engineer at the University of Miami. He said the fuel-efficient aircraft could reach supersonic speeds without the thunderclap sound produced by a sonic boom — a major factor that previously limited where the supersonic Concorde passenger jet could fly over populated land masses.(LiveScience)

An aircraft that resembles a four-point ninja star could go into supersonic mode by simply turning 90 degrees in midair. The unusual "flying wing" concept has won $100,000 in NASA funding to trying becoming a reality for future passenger jet travel. (LiveScience)

An unmanned experimental aircraft known as the Waverider or X-51A designed to fly six times the speed of sound broke apart over the Pacific Ocean seconds into a military test flight due to a faulty control fin.The problem with the fin on the craft was identified in a test flight on Tuesday, 16 seconds after a rocket booster on the remotely monitored craft was ignited to propel it forward, the Air Force said in a statement.Fifteen seconds later, when the X-51A separated from the rocket booster, it lost control due to a "faulty control fin," the statement said. The 31 seconds of flight fell far short of the military's goal for the X-51A to fly for five minutes.The aircraft broke apart immediately and fell into the Pacific Ocean near Point Mugu northwest of Los Angeles, said Daryl Mayer, a spokesman for the 88th Air Base Wing at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio.

Even if the test had been a success, the aircraft would have crashed at the end of the flight in any case and was not considered retrievable.The Waverider was designed to reach speeds of Mach 6 or above, six times the speed of sound and fast enough to zoom from New York to London in less than an hour. The military has its eye on using the Waverider program to develop missiles with non-nuclear explosives that could strike anywhere in the world within an hour, analysts said.The cost of the experimental aircraft, which military officials said was dropped from a B-52 bomber before its rocket booster was ignited, has not been disclosed because many details of the program are classified.

The aircraft is known as the Waverider because it stays airborne, in part, with lift generated by the shock waves of its own flight. The Boeing Co's Phantom Works division performed design and assembly on the craft.This was the third of four X-51A aircraft built for the military, one of which flew for over three minutes at nearly five times the speed of sound during a 2010 test flight. Take a look at the next generation of air travel.

DARPA's Falcon Hypersonic Technology Vehicle 2 (HTV-2) in an artist's conception. The unmanned hypersonic glider is capable of flying at 20 times the speed of sound. REUTERS/DARPA

The EADS Atrium aircraft, which will enable space tourists to experience weightlessness briefly outside the earth's atmosphere. The aircraft, about the size of an executive jet, is designed to carry four passengers around 100 kilometres from the earth, where they will be able to experience about three minutes of weightlessness and see the curve of the earth. REUTERS/EADS Atrium/Marc Newson Ltd/NASA

The Long Endurance Multi-Intelligence Vehicle (LEMV) is seen above Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey during its first flight, August 7, 2012. The LEMV, like a blimp, is said to be capable of carrying multiple intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance payloads for more than 21 days at altitudes greater than 22,000 feet. REUTERS/U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command/Army Forces Strategic Command

An artist's rendering of NASA's X-37 Orbital Test Vehicle. REUTERS/NASA

The Virgin Galactic SpaceShip2 (VSS Enterprise) glides toward Earth on its first test flight after being released from its WhiteKnight2 mothership (VMS Eve) over the Mojave, California area, October 10, 2010. REUTERS/Mark Greenberg-Virgin Galactic

The Solar Impulse aircraft is pulled out of the hangar for take off at Payerne airport in Switzerland, May 24, 2012. The Solar Impulse HB-SIA prototype aircraft, which has 12,000 solar cells built into its 193 foot wings, will attempt a round-the-world flight in 2014. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse

Former professional Swiss military pilot Yves Rossy, also known as "Fusionman", flies in the sky like a rocketeer in the southern Swiss Alps near Bex, May 14, 2008. Rossy is the first man ever to successfully fly with wings, powered by four engines on his back. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse

An RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned aircraft. REUTERS/U.S. Air Force/Bobbi Zapka

The SpaceEx Falcon Heavy, the world's most powerful rocket. The Falcom Heavy could lift twice as much cargo into orbit as the recently-retired space shuttles. The first launch is slotted for 2013. REUTERS/Courtesy of SpaceEx

Eurocopter's X3 high-speed hybrid helicopter, which combines forward-facing propeller engines astride two short aircraft wings with overhead rotor blades, during a demonstration in September 2010. REUTERS/HO/Eurocopter/Penna

NASA's X-37 Orbital Test Vehicle in an artist's rendering. REUTERS/NASA

The MV-22 (Osprey) aircraft arrives for a test flight at the Pentagon landing field in Washington, August 3, 2012. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas