The furnace helping Australia go hypersonic
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Earlier this month, Space Connect reported how the University of Queensland unveiled a new furnace that can help create the components used on hypersonic \\u201cspaceplanes\\u201d.
The device will be able to heat materials to almost 3,000 degrees, allowing it to replicate the extreme temperatures experienced by hypersonic vehicles as they travel beyond Mach 5.
UQ Associate Professor Michael Heitzmann, one of Australia\\u2019s leading experts on composite materials, tells Adam Thorn how the furnace works.\\xa0
Plus, he reveals how far away we are from a world where spaceplanes become a reality.