UNDATED: This artist's depiction shows a X-43A Hyper-X research vehicle under scramjet power in flight. NASA is scheduled to attempt to break its own aircraft speed record during the week of November 15, 2004 by flying a pilotless version of the aircraft 110,000 feet above the Pacific Ocean at 7,200 miles per hour, close to Mach 10. Scramjet technology, using oxygen taken from the atmosphere unlike rockets which must carry oxygen onboard, may eventually allow airplanes to travel from San Francisco to Washington, DC in about 20 minutes. (Photo by NASA via Getty Images)
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