Hypersonic Vehicle Analyses: The Needs and Challenges of Multidisciplinary Simulations

Hypersonics refers to vehicles that fly faster than five times the speed of sound, typically in the air. This equates to about 3500 MPH at sea level, meaning these vehicles cover almost one mile every second. This speed is incredibly fast for an air vehicle.

Hypersonics encompasses various types of missions and vehicles, leading to complications and making simplifications difficult. In the US, over $4 billion is being spent on Hypersonic systems for national security, including Boost glide vehicles and Scramjet powered systems to defend against adversaries' Hypersonic weapons. Hypersonics also plays a crucial role in space exploration, such as bringing astronauts back from the space station or landing rovers on Mars.

There are also discussions and plans for Hypersonic commercial aviation in the future, surpassing the speed of the old supersonic Concorde. Unique phenomena and challenges in Hypersonic vehicles necessitate a separate term from supersonics. The incredible speed at which Hypersonic vehicles fly is just one aspect of their uniqueness.