Supersonic Vehicle to Serve as a Prototype for Hypersonic Commercial Aircraft

According to representatives from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, they are going to test a 10 meter (33ft)-long vehicle dubbed Silent Supersonic Technology Demonstrator (S3T) . The test is going to take place in 2012 and it is worth mentioning that the S3T follows the Supersonic Transport program, which ended up in 2005 with the flight of Next-1 a 2 meter-long vehicle.
The demonstrator represents a part of the project that aims towards the creation of a commercial supersonic aircraft in 2015. Researchers hope that the upcoming super jet could pass the distance between the US west coast and Tokyo in 5 hours. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency says that the Japanese government each year provides $200 million for the program.
The program began in 2007, setting up the second phase of the previous technologically advanced research project. Recently the agency presented a deck model of the S3T. The presentation took place at Farnborough.
The Japanese look forward to work on the project taking into consideration ecological problems, in accordance with recent trends of European countries and the United States. It wants to cut the sonic boom and the noise of the vehicle at take-off.
In the meantime, the agency prepares to launch its Mach 5.0 hypersonic propulsion technology demonstrator. The research will continue running until 2015. link....