Space Travelling Passenger Jet Could Make London to New York in Two Hours

The Paradoxal uses a Rotary Ramjet engine which converts into a rocket to reach a suborbital altitude (Paradoxal/Imaginative).

Houston, 27 Rabiul Awwal 1438/27 December 2016 (MINA) – A newly designed hypersonic jet could take passengers from London to New York in as little as two hours.

The Paradoxal would make the trip in record time thanks to a short trip into suborbital space, independent.co.uk reported.

A brief trip into space would give passengers a view of the stars and the curvature of the earth and even provide a minute of weightlessness.

Passengers would sit in a large, theatre-like cabin, with galleys and baggage stored at the back of the compartment.

“Gone are the days of tube-and-wing planes with their long rows of cramped seats,” the plane’s designer, Juan Garcia Mansilla said in a statement.

The conceptual design was published on Imaginactive, which provides a platform for vehicle designers to share their ideas.

The Paradoxal uses a Rotary Ramjet engine which converts into a rocket to reach a suborbital altitude, Mr Mansilla explained.

It would take off using the Rotary Ramjet engines until it climbed to 60,000 feet and reached Mach 3, at which point liquid oxygen would be injected into the engine’s gas exhaust port to push it at supersonic speeds up to an altitude of 40 miles.

A line of counterflowing jets of air on the aircraft’s leading edges reduce heat and drag during the ascent and re-entry phases of flight.

Mr Mansilla said he hoped a large panoramic rooftop “would definitely be a plus” if it could be designed to endure the heat and stress of the flight, but until then passengers would also be able to view the curvature of the earth through onboard cameras.

While the Paradoxical would primarily be used for intercontinental travel, it could be developed and used by other government agencies.

“It can also be perceived as an aircraft that mixes space tourism with business travel,” Mr Mansilla said. (T/RS05/RS01)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)