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UNITED STATES
Plane zooms to 8,000 kph
A 4-meter-long experimental plane equipped with a special jet engine streaked across the Pacific Ocean at more than seven times the speed of sound March 27, shattering a technological barrier and brightening prospects for superfast airline flights.
Flying faster than any aircraft ever built, NASA's X-43A "Hyper X" plane reached a top speed of about 8,000 kph, or more than 2.2 km per second, before the unmanned craft was intentionally ditched into the ocean.
The Japan Times Weekly: April 3, 2004 (C) All rights reserved
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