According to BBC’s
World
Today radio report, there will be another test of Japan’s supersonic jet this Saturday in at the Woomera test range
in Australia. The last test ended in failure three years ago. Officials at JAXA, Japan’s space agency, are hoping for
better results this time. I should hope so — this test flight costs $10 million!
Japanese and French engineers and contractors have agreed upon a $1.84 million budget
over the next three years to attempt
to develop a supersonic jet that is cheaper, more efficient, and less-noisy than Concorde, and to get it flying by
2020. No biggie.
Maybe they can build it — but what purpose will it serve? As aerospace journalist David Learmount tells the BBC, Mach
2 may be a great scientific feat, but sonic booms and astronomical costs do not make the jet appealing or affordable
for anyone.