Imagine boarding a jet in Atlanta and arriving in Japan in about the time it takes now to fly to Miami or Chicago.

That’s just one of the possibilities of research in an area of ultrafast flight called hypersonics. The term refers to traveling at roughly a mile a second, or about five times the speed of sound and faster. 

Interest in hypersonics is growing, with early notions of high-speed passenger travel alongside defense and space applications driving questions about meeting the demands of Mach 5+ flight.

Such speeds introduce a host of new challenges for aerodynamics, thermal management, and rapid decision-making that Georgia Tech engineers are working to solve.

For Anirban Mazumdar in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, aerospace questions have always been fascinating.

Hypersonics is an area where those questions are tough. Uncovering answers can have real impact on unlocking new capabilities for travel across the globe or to space, in addition to national security implications.

“It’s very challenging. We are trying to deal with very extreme scenarios, and we’re trying to do it, not just to advance science, but primarily because it matters to our country,” Mazumdar said. “That combination is incredible.”

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