NASA scientists have achieved a technological breakthrough with their successful test of an experimental high-speed jet, the X-43A.

In its 11-second flight, the aircraft reached speeds of 8,000 kilometres per hour.

"It's been an outstanding record breaking day," said NASA's Lawrence Huebner.

The X-43A is part of NASA's Hyper-X program, a research effort to develop cheaper space travel and airliners that could reach anywhere on earth in a matter of hours.

The unmanned, four-metre vehicle is part airplane, part spacecraft. It was deployed by being released from beneath the wing of a B-52 bomber flying at 40,000 feet over the Pacific Ocean.

The X-43A, a 2,800 pound wedge-shaped object, is designed to travel at seven times the speed of sound, or Mach 7.

Any speed faster than Mach 5 is designated as hypersonic.

The fastest commercial jet ever was the now-retired Concorde, which flew at Mach 2.

What allowed it to reach such a blazing speed was a new type of engine called a scramjet.

Unlike a conventional rocket, which carries its own oxygen supply, the scramjet scoops oxygen directly from the atmosphere.

It has few moving parts but that allows for optimum efficiency and speed.

It's been almost three years since the last trial flight, an unsuccessful attempt on June 2, 2001.

That flight ended prematurely when the X-43A veered off course moments after being released and was deliberately destroyed.

An investigation into the crash found that the control system of the booster rocket was the root cause of the flight path deviation.

Based on a report by CTV's John Vennavally-Rao