Project Description:
The HyENA program aimed to design an economically and technically viable hypersonic commercial jet leveraging prospective small nuclear fusion reactor technology. The HyENA vehicle uses a fusion-augmented turbofan combined cycle to deliver Mach 5 cruising capabilities at a 100 kft cruising altitude. All while enabling vastly expanded range and lower emissions compared to current technologies.
The initial test phase represented by this project completed aerodynamic, structural, thermal, and propulsion design and analysis. With a final design based on early optimization and MDO processes.
