If testing is successful, NASA's 12-foot-long X-43A will become the first nonrocket, air-breathing plane to reach hypersonic speeds, a development engineers hope could lead to sending payloads into space much more cheaply or to aircraft that could whisk people to any point in the world within two hours.

See thye whole article at:
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/nation/2470148

ABSTRACT FROM THE GUARDIAN:
"Nasa superjet to head high for a fast fall"
Successful test flight may save prototype engine project
David Adam, science correspondent

The 12-foot-long plane is powered by an exotic engine called a scramjet. Unlike conventional turbojet engines that use a turbine-powered fan to compress air before it is mixed with fuel, a scramjet relies on the speed of the engine itself to compress the incoming air. For it to work, the engine has to reach speeds of about 3,500mph before it is switched on. In principle, such engines could then accelerate planes to more than 10 times the speed of sound, Mach 10.

See thye whole article at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/spacedocumentary/story/0,2763,1179115,00.html

WHAT IS A SCRAMJET ENGINE:
- http://www.aviation-history.com/engines/ramjet.htm

IN LINGUA ITALIANA:
- http://www.onera.fr/cahierdelabo/italian/ahyp1.htm
- http://www.enel.it/magazine/boiler/arretrati/boiler43/html/articoli/Ungaro-Ipersonico.asp