A scale model of the airliner

BEIJING, Oct. 10 -- Japan successfully tested a revolutionary design for a supersonic airliner to replace Concorde, three years after the first attempt ended in a fiery crash in the Australian desert, reported AFP.

    A scale model of an airliner that would carry 300 passengers at twice the speed of sound was launched from the Woomera test site in the outback with the aid of a rocket shortly after dawn, Japan's Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) said.

    "It went well, it was successful," JAXA spokeswoman Mayuni Onodera told AFP by telephone from the test site, which was closed to the media.

    In the test, the 11.5-metre (38 foot) scale model of the 104-metre airliner separated from the rocket at around 18,000 metres (59,400 feet) and glided at Mach 2 (2,450 kilometres per hour, 1,522 miles per hour) for about 15 minutes.

    The multi-million dollar test aircraft landed safely, Onodera said.

    In the first attempt at Woomera in July 2002, the rocket carrying the scale model veered wildly out of control a few seconds after takeoff and crashed in flames.

    The trial put to the test the aerodynamic design of an aircraft intended to fly twice the distance and seat three times the number of passengers as Concorde, the iconic Anglo-French jet that was retired in 2003.

    Designers hope a commercial version of the National Experimental Supersonic Transport (Nexst) -- planned for possible production in 15 to 20 years -- will also be less polluting and less noisy than the Concorde.

    It is hoped the prototype aircraft could cut hours off trans-Pacific and around-the-world travel.

    Data gained from today's test will be used in joint research by Japan and France towards a next-generation supersonic jet.

    Defense contractors and engineering companies from the two countries agreed to cooperate on supersonic research over the next three years, Japan's Trade Ministry said in June.

    (Source: CRI/AFP)