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First Test of 1,000 mph Rocket Car Engine
Engineers in the U.K. have successfully completed the first test of the rocket engine being developed to power the Bloodhound SSC, a 44-foot-long car that will attempt to set a land speed record of 1,000 mph a year from now.
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Engineers in the U.K. have successfully completed the first test of the rocket engine being developed to power the Bloodhound SSC, a 44-foot-long car that will attempt to set a land speed record of 1,000 mph a year from now.
The current record of 763 mph, which marked the first time a land vehicle broke the sound barrier, was set in the U.S. 15 years ago by the Thrust SSC, also a British-developed car.
This week's Bloodhound engine test produced about 14,000 lbs of thrust. In its final form, the rocket is expected to generate a peak thrust of 27,500 lbs. An 800-hp Cosworth Formula One racing engine running at 17,000 rpm pumps oxidizer into the rocket at a rate of 105 pounds per second.
The Bloodhound weights 17,200 lbs, stands more than nine feet tall and is designed to accelerate from zero to 1,000 mph in 42 seconds. A fighter jet engine producing 20,200 lbs of thrust will push the car to 350 mph before the jet engine kicks in.
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