Investigation into Scramjet launch

The Australian Government has commissioned an inquiry into last week's failed attempt at the world's first test flight of a hypersonic "scramjet" engine.

Scramjet is short for supersonic combustion ramjet. Some believe it may one day be able to fly people at eight times the speed of sound into space.

A rocket with the scramjet attached was launched from a military site at Woomera in South Australia last Tuesday, but the test flight was thwarted when the rocket flew off course.

A second launch has been postponed, awaiting results from the formal investigation.