14-X
The 14-X is a Brazilian hypersonic glide vehicle under development by the Aerothermodynamics and Hypersonics Laboratory Henry T. Nagamatsu of the Institute for Advanced Studies and the Brazilian Air Force, equipped with a liquid hydrogen powered scramjet engine, launched by a VSB-30 rocket, reaching 100,000 feet of altitude and a maximum speed of Mach 10. The name is a reference to the 14-bis, of the Brazilian inventor and aviation pioneer Alberto Santos-Dumont.
The 14-X is expected to make its first test flight in 2020 or 2021.History
The project was conceived in 2007, when the engineer-captain of the Brazilian Air Force, Tiago Cavalcanti Rolim started a master's degree at the Instituto Tecnológico de Aeronáutica and was approved with a thesis on the waverider configuration. The development of the project started with an experimental model by the Institute for Advanced Studies in the same year. Testing of hypersonic engine started in October 2009.Purpose
The technology is considered by Brazil as one of the most efficient means of accessing space in the near future, and could be used to place satellites in orbit and make suborbital flights. It can also be used in other areas such as the development of intercontinental ballistic missiles or in civil aviation.
