<p>Hanneke Weitering is a writer and editor with AIN covering advanced air mobility and new flight technologies. She became an aviation journalist and joined the AIN team in the summer of 2022 after reporting on spaceflight and astronomy for six years at Space.com. After earning a bachelor’s degree in physics from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, she moved to New York City to pursue a master’s degree in science, health, and environmental reporting at New York University&#039;s Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute. She is now based in Seattle near Boeing Field and spends her free time exploring nature in the Pacific Northwest.</p>


Science & Technology Editor

<p>Destinus, a Swiss start-up that aims to develop a hydrogen-powered hypersonic aircraft for high-speed cargo deliveries, has resumed test flights with its Jungfrau technology demonstrator after the initial test flight of a second, larger prototype didn’t go as smoothly as planned.&nbsp;</p>
<p>The company is developing a fully autonomous aircraft that can fly at hypersonic speeds exceeding Mach 5, or five times the speed of sound. This “near-space” hyperplane would operate in the mesosphere, flying higher than any existing aircraft, and it will be able to make cargo deliveries anywhere in the world in under two hours, according to Destinus. “The hyperplane they are building combines the technological advancements of a rocket with the simple physics of a glider,” a company spokesman told <strong>FutureFlight</strong>.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Jungfrau, the company’s first technology demonstrator, made its first flight in November 2021, after which it returned to the hangar at Payerne Airport in Switzerland for hardware and software upgrades. The aircraft flew several loops at subsonic speeds and successfully landed, verifying that the airframe, which is designed for hypersonic flights, could perform at subsonic speeds as well. <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2022-02-09/destinus-wins-backing-hydrogen-powered-autonomous-hypersonic-aircraft">Destinus</a> resumed subsonic flight testing with the upgraded Jungfrau in July, but the company has yet to break the sound barrier with either of its prototypes.&nbsp;</p>
<article class="align-center media media--type-video media--view-mode-default">
  
        <div class="layout layout--onecol">
    <div class="layout__region layout__region--content">
      <div class="block block-layout-builder block-field-blockmediavideofield-media-oembed-video">
  
    
      
            <div class="field field--name-field-media-oembed-video field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item"><iframe src="https://backend.ainonline.com//media/oembed?url=https%3A//youtu.be/tfxcwTgDUS0&amp;max_width=0&amp;max_height=0&amp;hash=WgwpmV1KOzeUwmwKZax6CB1RiTzVMqphGUhqyxH6h6I" width="200" height="113" class="media-oembed-content" loading="eager" title="Destinus Jungfrau - Flight Testing Continues"></iframe>
</div>
      
  </div>
<div class="block block-layout-builder block-field-blockmediavideofield-caption">
  
    
      
            <div class="field field--name-field-caption field--type-string-long field--label-hidden field__item">Destinus Jungfrau - Flight Testing Continues</div>
      
  </div>

    </div>
  </div>

  </article>
<p>The larger prototype, called Eiger, made its inaugural test flight on April 13 at an airport near Munich, Germany, according to a company blog post. For that mission, Destinus sought to determine how the aircraft would perform while flying at low speeds and during takeoff and landing. However, the prototype experienced an “aerodynamic instability” a few minutes into the flight and made a “hard landing,” Destinus officials wrote in <a href="https://destinus.ch/maiden-flight-of-destinus-eiger-prototype/">the blog post</a>. Eiger has since returned to the hangar, where the team is conducting&nbsp;a thorough investigation and making design changes before it's cleared to resume flight testing.&nbsp;</p>
<p>“Although the flight did not go as planned, significant data points were collected from internal and external sensors that will help the engineers validate their analysis and provide new insights,” Destinus said in the blog. “This is a great opportunity for us to learn more about this challenging shape!”</p>
<p>One of the biggest challenges Destinus faces is designing an airframe that can fly not only at hypersonic speeds, but also at slower subsonic and supersonic speeds. That’s because hypersonic aircraft still need to be able to take off and land at slower-than-hypersonic speeds.&nbsp;</p>
<p>“Although very efficient for hypersonic flights, both Jungfrau and Eiger have shapes that differ from common subsonic airframes,” Destinus wrote in its blog. “There will not be a single shape that can tackle subsonic, supersonic, and hypersonic flight regimes all in a single mission. This is because different geometrical features are tailored to each specific regime. Therefore, flying hypersonic shapes such as Jungfrau at subsonic speeds is a very challenging task, in which Destinus is succeeding.”&nbsp;</p>
<figure role="group" class="caption caption-drupal-media align-center">
<article class="media media--type-image media--view-mode-default">
  
        <div class="layout layout--onecol">
    <div class="layout__region layout__region--content">
      <div class="block block-layout-builder block-field-blockmediaimagefield-media-image">
  
    
      
            <div class="field field--name-field-media-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item">  <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/futureflight/import/Eiger-on-the-Runway-1024x567.png" width="2200" height="1080" alt="Destinus's Eiger prototype is pictured on the runway." title="Destinus's Eiger prototype is pictured on the runway. (Credit: Destinus)">

</div>
      
  </div>
<div class="block block-layout-builder block-field-blockmediaimagefield-caption">
  
    
      
            <div class="field field--name-field-caption field--type-string-long field--label-hidden field__item">Destinus's Eiger prototype is pictured on the runway. (Credit: Destinus)</div>
      
  </div>

    </div>
  </div>

  </article>

<figcaption>Destinus's Eiger prototype is pictured on the runway. (Credit: Destinus)</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The company is not yet using liquid hydrogen to power its prototypes, but it expects to begin testing its first hydrogen-fed air turborocket (ATR) engine in 2023, the company spokesman told <strong>FutureFlight</strong>. For now, the company’s prototypes are powered by turbojet engines.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Destinus says it is working with&nbsp;EASA and other aviation regulators on the certification basis for this new type of aircraft, which has so far only been approved to conduct test flights at subsonic speeds. The company hopes to have a third prototype flying at supersonic speeds by the end of 2022, and it will introduce the ATR engines on subsequent prototypes that could begin hypersonic test flights between 2023 and 2024.</p>


Hanneke Weitering

Destinus resumed subsonic test flights with its Jungfrau technology demonstrator in July. (Credit: Destinus)

Hypersonic Aircraft Developer Destinus Resumes Test Flights with 'Jungfrau' Prototype

2024 Corporate Aviation Leadership Summit

AIN Products

SUBSCRIPTIONS

RESOURCES

ABOUT AIN