DARPA's successful ground-testing was one thing. This flight will be another, and pretty important. Especially since its technology is the X-43's technology.

Scramjet to test at Mach 10

'The 3.7 metre long X-43 vehicle is based on scramjet technology, largely developed at the University of Queensland's Centre for Hypersonics.'

Hyshot blows its nose

'The Hyshot scramjet engine is expected to push along a Terrior Orion rocket at Mach 7.6 - 7.6 times the speed of sound, or 2.4km a second.... This is a mite faster than the more sophisticated $400 million NASA X-43 scramjet test plane experiment also scheduled to fly this year.'

Scramjet research moving ahead

'In Australia, the University of Queensland is planning to launch two scramjet-equipped rockets by June, significant in that it antedates the first flight of the X-43 by a little under several months, to be the first opportunity researchers will have to measure supersonic combustion processes in flight.... The first acid test of hypersonic propulsion for the U.S. aerospace industry, however, will come with the first flight of the X-43 this fall.'