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European startup Destinus is designing a series of ultra-speedy aircraft capable of reaching Mach 5.
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Liquid hydrogen combined with jet and rocket engines will allow the plane to cruise at 108,000 feet.
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Models “Destinus S” and “Destinus L” could connect cities like New York and London in just 90 minutes.
The world has not seen a supersonic aircraft since the demise of the Concorde in 2003.
The legendary plane connected New York and London in as little as three and a half hours, but several factors including its costly fuel-hungry engines made the Concorde difficult to sustain.
Nevertheless, that hasn’t stopped several aerospace startups from coming up with new and environmentally friendly ideas for a super-speedy planes. One of the most well-known is Colorado-based Boom Supersonic, which is making progress on its Overture jet. US carriers United Airlines and American Airlines have already placed orders.
However, there are a few other companies hoping to create an even faster aircraft that can outrun the Overture and the Concorde, including European aircraft manufacturing startup Destinus.
Insider spoke with the Destinus team at the Paris Air Show in June to learn more about its hydrogen-powered hypersonic jet — take a look.
At only two years old, Destinus has big ambitions for commercial hypersonic flight, which means flying at five times the speed of sound.
The company’s revolutionary project is Destinus S — a 25-seater business jet that can fly up to 10,000 kilometers (6,214 miles) and cruise up to 33 kilometers (20 miles).
Twenty miles translates to about 108,000 feet, meaning the jet will soar more than 60,000 feet higher than current airliners.
Destinus is also looking to build a widebody Mach 5 passenger jet known as Destinus L.
The aircraft will have the same cruise altitude but can travel up to 22,000 km (13,670) and carry 300-400 people.
The company is expecting deliveries for the Destinus S to start between 2032 and 2035, with Destinus L coming in the 2040s — putting both behind Boom’s 2029 timeline.
Using liquid hydrogen for fuel and a combo of turbojet and ramjet engines, the plane would be able to connect cities like London and New York in just 90 minutes.
The propulsion system is particularly unique. According to Destinus, the turbojet is paired with afterburners to speed up from subsonic to supersonic…
…while the ramjet will get the aircraft to hypersonic velocities.
“It’s somewhere of a mix between a rocket and an airplane,” senior business development manager Martina Löfqvist told media at the Paris Air Show.
Löfqvist described hydrogen power as the “core of the company,” saying it is three times more efficient than traditional jet fuel and it doesn’t release carbon emissions.
Moreover, hydrogen is a good cooling agent, meaning it can counteract the immense 1,000°C (1,832°F) heat generated from reaching hypersonic speeds.
This is especially important for the particularly sharp edges along the front of the wings — a design favored for aerodynamic efficiency, but the material used must remain cool.
“We’ve been speaking with a lot of airlines and airports who also support the notion that hydrogen will be the future of aviation,” Löfqvist said.
She noted that Airbus, for example, is currently testing a hydrogen engine on a modified A380 with hopes it’ll power zero-emission planes one day.
Airbus has chosen its A380 superjumbo jet to test a hydrogen-powered engine it hopes will fuel future zero-emission aircraft
As far as the shape of Destinus jets, Löfqvist said they will have a “wave rider design,” which allows the aircraft to get extra lift by riding on the shockwaves produced at ultra-fast speeds.
This design — as well as other systems — have been tested at subsonic velocities using two prototype aircraft on display at the air show, including Jungfrau…
Source: Destinus
…and Eiger. The planes have been flying since 2021 and 2022, respectively, though Eiger had what Destinus has described as a “hard landing” during its maiden flight.
Source: Destinus
“We had to fix [Eiger] after the first flight,” Löfqvist said but noted the second flight was a success. “We know we can recover from hard landings and issues we have with these vehicles.”
Source: Destinus
Also on display at the air show and making its public debut was Destinus 3, the latest demonstrator that is expected to become the world’s first hydrogen-powered supersonic unmanned jet.
After its stint at the air show, the Destinus plans for the model to take its first flight, reaching speeds of up to Mach 1.3.
While Destinus is confident its hypersonic planes will eventually come to life, the vision will not be cheap.
According to Löfqvist, Destinus is funding the project by providing products and services in the energy sector, like a gas turbine engine it recently got after acquiring another company.
Also facing Destinus is the competition. US startup Venus Aerospace has plans to build a hypersonic plane called “Stargazer.”
Source: Venus Aerospace
The 12-seater jet is expected to fly up to Mach 9 and rocket across 5,000 miles in just one hour — a world-changing time saver.
Source: Venus Aerospace
However, these dreams are still years away. Hypersonic flight is fairly uncharted territory for many country regulators, with the Department of Defense struggling with hypersonic testing due to a lack of long-distance test “corridors.”
