美研發超音速客機 90分鐘紐約飛東京大綱

A California-based flight firm says its jet can take you from the Big Apple to the Orient in half the amount of time it would take to watch Titanic.

XCOR Aerospace claims its Lynx spacecraft can travel at a speed of more than 2,500 mph - and dozens of miles above the earth - before safely landing at an airport.

It would be the fastest commercial flight since the days of the Concorde.

Business Insider reported that work continues on a prototype of the jet, but portions of the aircraft have been released to the public, including testing of Lynx's supersonic engine last week.

When finished and successfully tested, the company will begin marketing the world’s quickest flights on a jet that takes off and lands like the 747s of today.

XCOR COO Andrew Nelson told the reporters that flights between Tokyo and New York are likely to be available within the next 20 years.

XCOR is one of several companies developing suborbital vehicles for commercial space tourist flights.

Lynx, a two-seater craft, will be able to take off and land at standard airports and unlike other spacecraft it will be a reusable space plane, capable of making up to four trips per day.

It will take a pilot and passenger to the edge of space for a few minutes of microgravity and the ultimate view of the Earth.

XCOR anticipates beginning space tourist flights on the new plane in 2013, with tickets selling for $95,000 per person.位於加州的XCOR宇航公司表示，他們研發的最新小型航天飛機從紐約到東京只需90分鐘，僅相當於觀看《泰坦尼克號》電影一半的時間。

XCOR宇航公司表示，“山貓”號航天飛機時速可超過2500英里，在安全在機場降落前飛行高度也將達到幾十英里。

這將成爲協和式超音速客機後速度最快的商業飛機。

據商業內幕網站報道，這種飛機的原型機仍在建造當中，但部分情況已對外公佈，包括上週公佈的“山貓”號超音速引擎測試。

在建造完成並測試成功後，該公司將開始運營全球最快的噴氣式客機航班，起飛和降落就和現今的波音747客機一樣。

XCOR公司的首席運營官安德魯-納爾遜告訴記者，東京到紐約的航線有望於20年內實現。

XCOR是開發亞軌道飛行器、用於商業太空飛行的幾家公司之一。

“山貓”號設有兩個座位，將可在普通機場起降，而且和其他航天器不同，這種航天飛機可以重複使用，每天最多能夠飛行四次。

“山貓”號可搭載一名駕駛員和一名遊客升空，進入太空邊緣，體驗幾分鐘太空微重力，俯瞰地球。

XCOR公司預計將於2013年使用新式航天飛機開展太空遊項目，票價爲每人9.5萬美元。