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Blazing a trail over the Pacific Ocean at 5,000 miles per hour, NASA's X-43A made history on March 27 with its revolutionary scramjet engine. Traditional rocket engines combine liquid oxygen and fuel to create thrust, but scramjet engines use air from the atmosphere instead. The incredible speed of the vehicle compresses the air to the point where it can be used efficiently for combustion. Saturday's X-43A's flight was the first time a scramjet engine has been flown in 'free flight'. The vehicle was lifted to an altitude of almost 100,000 feet by a Pegasus booster rocket and released. The X-43A then fired its scramjet engine, for nearly 10 seconds of successful operation. The technology is still highly experimental, but has the potential to one day revolutionize the cost and reliability of high speed flight.