Innovative ‘morphing’ hypersonic scramjet gets DoD funding

Plus: Webb detects life molecules, luxury supersonic jet, FAA lists SpaceX fixes. 🚀 Researchers at the University of Central Florida are developing an innovative new scramjet engine that can morph mid-flight, a development which could facilitate hypersonic speed travel between continents in under an hour. Funded by the U.S. Department of Defense, this shape-shifting jet engine may finally realize the long-awaited potential of super-fast flight. We’ve more on this exciting development in today’s [Must Read]( below. Good morning. I’m Tim, newsletter editor at IE. This is the Blueprint. Let's get into it! VIDEO OF THE DAY [Is Nikola Tesla Overrated?]( How bees can be trained to detect bombs Bees can be trained to detect explosive vapors using their proboscis extension reflex, and are returned to their hives after their task is complete. 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[SUBSCRIBE]( HOT TOPICS - 🚛 [North Korea now has rocket-armed civilian trucks in disguise]( Saturday’s 75th-anniversary parade included rocket launcher-armed disguised civilian trucks. - ❌ [Musk's dream to turn X into a bank hits a roadblock]( In an open letter, a law firm alleges the company is complicit in human rights violations in Saudi Arabia. - 🧠[Neuromorphic computing could lead to self-learning machines]( German scientists present a new method to improve the efficiency of AI training. - [📦 Star Wars model spacecraft could fetch $400,000 at auction]( The model was discovered in a cardboard box after being thought lost for decades. - 🦴 [Virgin Galactic launched fossilized human remains to space]( Galactic 03 carried fossilized remains in “tribute to the contribution of all human ancestors and ancient human relatives.” Must Read [⏩ Innovative ‘morphing’ scramjet engine wins Department of Defense funding]( The University of Central Florida has received a $450,000 grant to design a revolutionary scramjet engine that can change its configuration during flight to optimize performance. The morphing engine is intended for hypersonic speeds of Mach 6 to 17, enabling rapid travel between distant destinations. Principal investigator Kareem Ahmed previously achieved important breakthroughs in scramjet technology, which uses supersonic combustion to enable faster air travel. Ahmed's team will test their shape-shifting scramjet prototype and model its adaptable aerodynamics. By enhancing speed, range, and maneuverability, morphing scramjets may pave the way for sustained hypersonic flight. [[Read More]( [Science]( [🔭 Webb space telescope finds methane and carbon dioxide in a distant world]( The James Webb Space Telescope has found signs of methane, carbon dioxide and possibly dimethyl sulfide in the atmosphere of exoplanet K2-18b. This sub-Neptune world orbits in the habitable zone of a distant star and may have oceans below its hydrogen atmosphere. Detecting these molecules outside our solar system renews excitement about Webb’s ability to reveal distant worlds that may be capable of hosting alien life. [[Read More]( [Transportation]( 🛩 Luxury supersonic jet will fly from New York to London in 3 hours US company Spike Aerospace is now taking reservations for its $100 million S-512 supersonic jet, slated to fly 12-18 passengers at Mach 1.6 speeds. Spike promises the luxury aircraft can traverse routes like New York to London in just 3 hours, enabled by a windowless cabin design that prevents sonic booms. However, with few details on the technology and no delivery timeline, it remains unclear if the ambitious specifications are feasible. [[Read More]( [Innovation]( ⚠️ The FAA outlines changes SpaceX must make before next Starship launch attempt The FAA concluded an investigation into SpaceX’s failed first Starship launch, requiring 63 fixes before another test flight. Though Elon Musk recently stated that Starship is “[ready to fly]( , SpaceX must satisfy all FAA safety criteria before attempting a second orbital launch attempt. If SpaceX can prove it has addressed the issues, it will likely get approval to continue advancing Starship. [[Read More]( job alert In this section you’ll find the latest jobs as featured on: [jobs.interestingengineering.com]( [Cloud Engineer]( [Chantilly,US]( [Senior Server Design Integration Engineer]( [Santa Clara,US]( [Senior Software Engineer *Remote Opportunity*]( [Endicott,US]( [Analytics Data Engineer - Remote]( [Columbia,US]( [Sr Principal Engineer Software (Command and Control)]( [Morrisville,US]( [Artificial Intelligence and Decision Engineer]( [McLean,US]( [Cyber Security Engineer]( [New York,US]( [Salesforce DevOps Engineer]( [Ottawa,CA]( [Lead Cloud Infrastructure Operations Engineer]( [Abbott Park,US]( [Sr Machine Learning Engineer (AI/ML/NLP/LLM/Generative AI)]( [Santa Clara, CA, USA,CA]( QUESTION OF THE DAY Do you think supersonic travel between continents will return soon? [Yes, and I cannot wait!]( [Yes, but it'll be expensive]( [Makes no commercial sense]( [No, we have Zoom now]( YESTERDAY'S RESULTS Yesterday’s poll found strong support for liquid hydrogen as a replacement for fossil fuels in aviation. 46% Yes, viable and essential 36% Yes, but no time soon 10% No, it's a red herring 7% Biofuels make more sense “Most hypersonic engines are structurally fixed due to the challenging flight environment. Our research will show the performance gains from an adaptable engine configuration that would self-optimize its surfaces to maximize performance power, thrust and travel distance, which is the first of its kind for hypersonic engines.” Kareem Ahmed, professor at UCF’s Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering professor. 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