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NASA's X-43A set a speed record using what kind of engine?

A scramjet, a supersonic-combustion ramjet.

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  1. A turbofan
  2. A scramjet ✔
  3. A piston engine

Why: In a scramjet the air stays supersonic all the way through the engine. NASA's X-43A reached nearly Mach 10, about 7,000 mph, a record for an air-breathing vehicle.

Huh, didn't know that: The X-43A was carried up by a B-52B and boosted to speed by a rocket before its scramjet lit.

The dad joke
Why did the X-43A win the race? It scrammed out of there!
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References

Answer: A scramjet. In a scramjet the air stays supersonic all the way through the engine. NASA's X-43A reached nearly Mach 10, about 7,000 mph, a record for an air-breathing vehicle.

  1. X-43A (Hyper-X), NASA www.nasa.gov/reference/x-43a-hyper-x
    A scramjet (supersonic-combustion ramjet) is a ramjet engine in which the airflow through the engine remains supersonic.
    Checked 2026-10-10.
  2. X-43A (Hyper-X), NASA www.nasa.gov/reference/x-43a-hyper-x
    setting the current world speed record for an air-breathing vehicle.
    Checked 2026-10-10.

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