25 October 2001

The first launch of The University of Queensland`s experimental HyShot scramjet has been rescheduled to Tuesday, October 30 at 11:30am at Woomera, north of Adelaide.

HyShot international program co-ordinator Dr Susan Anderson said the rescheduling would enable researchers and the launch team to resolve all technical issues, ensuring the $1.5 million project runs as smoothly as possible.

"It is not unusual in this type of experiment for there to be some flexibility in launch dates," Dr Anderson said.

The HyShot experiment involves the world’s first flight tests using supersonic combustion scramjets -- oxygen breathing engines that work at hypersonic speeds, giving off water as the only by-product and only needing some hydrogen to run.

Photographs of HyShot preparations at Woomera this week can be viewed at: http://proofs.cc.uq.edu.au/Woomera

and downloaded at: http://photos.cc.uq.edu.au/Woomera

For captions, please send an email to d.lilley@mailbox.uq.edu.au

For further information, please contact Peter McCutcheon (mobile: 0413 380 012) or Jan King (mobile: 0438 320 274) at UQ Communications.