On Friday, the Department of Defense announced that it has awarded Aerospace and Clean Energy Technologies Laboratories, or ACENT, of Long Island a $48.5 million cost-plus-fixed-fee and firm-fixed-price contract to perform work on Enhanced Operability Scramjet Technology, or EOST.
EOST is an Air Force Research Laboratory program that aims to improve the function of "scramjet" propulsion systems -- an engine type used to combust jetfuel and power flight at supersonic speeds -- theoretically, as high as Mach 24.
On its website, ACENT describes its work as such: "Under a Phase 2 SBIR project with NASA, ACENT is developing an innovative scramjet ignition system that leverages triethylaluminum (TEA) in a non-pyrophoric, storable mixture with jet fuel. Other activities include supporting the U.S. Air Force, DARPA, and NASA with advanced systems studies and flight demonstration projects such as the recently flown X-51 hypersonic vehicle."
Work on the instant contract is expected to be complete by Feb. 28, 2020.
