back in 1997, richard noble's land speed record team, with their car: "thrust ssc" driven by andy green broke not only the land speed record, but the sound barrier as well, with an average speed of 763 mph, or mach 1.01. this was undoubtably a great achievement, but the question stands: where do you go from here? well, richard noble has now returned with a new project, called the bloodhound ssc, a car perhaps capable of 1000mph. however, noble says that the purpose of the bloodhound project is not to break the 1000mph mark, or any other speed taret, it is simply to get people excited about maths and science. this idea of bringing all people together and getting them interested in engineering through this incredible project seems like a great idea, and is, so far having the desired effect. huge numbers of supporters of the project have donated money, and students across the country are being given lectures by the team about the project. the thing that seems to be getting people to take notice so far are the unbelievable figures attached to the car, it will be driven by a prototype eurofighter engine, and boosted to 1000mph by a hybrid rocket engine, which requires another 800hp engine jus to pump the oxidiser needed for it to burn continuously. the solid aluminium wheels will experience 50,000 radial G at the rim, and will rotate at over 10,000rpm. the project, provided sponser money comes in will go ahead with the run hopefully taking place in late 2011 or early 2012, and i'm sure we all wish them the best.
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