Hydrogen-Powered Plane

Posted on the 02 September 2012 by Gerard @presurfer

A hydrogen-powered plane that could go from Los Angeles to New York City in under an hour. But not any time soon. And only if you're in the military. The Boeing X-51 is an experimental plane that can go up to 3,600 mph - three times faster than the Concorde. And this week, it will be tested in the real world.
The unmanned plane, which looks like it emerged from a vintage sci-fi novel, is 'airbreathing' - meaning it operates using onboard hydrogen fuel and oxygen pulled from the atmosphere. The compression of the two gases gives the plane enough thrust to travel at hypersonic speeds.