This article from NYTimes.com has been sent to you by psa188@juno.com. Model Jetliner Crashes in Australia July 13, 2002 By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Filed at 10:58 p.m. ET WOOMERA, Australia (AP) -- A scale model of a Japanese supersonic jetliner crashed into the Australian desert and exploded shortly after it was launched Sunday on the back of a booster rocket, witnesses said. The disastrous end to the first test of Japan's National Experimental Supersonic Transport, or NEXST, came just seconds after its takeoff from the Woomera rocket testing range. Nobody was injured. Both the rocket and the model plane were unmanned. After the rocket climbed to about 110 yards, it turned over and began spiraling erratically through the air before slamming into the ground and exploding, witnesses at the test site said. The cause of the crash was not immediately known. The Japanese team responsible for the test was expected to give a press conference later Sunday. The launch had been postponed on a number of occasions because the wind was too strong in the desert. The 36-foot model was to have ridden piggyback on the booster rocket to a height of 12.5 miles at a speed of 1,522 mph. After performing a barrel roll, the booster was supposed to release the model, which would glide to earth in a 14-minute flight to test its automatic flight systems. It was not immediately clear what effect the crash would have on a further three tests planned for later this year to test the model's aerodynamics, which were developed through computer simulations seeking to cut the noise of supersonic flight in half. In phase two of the $200 million project, 20 tests under powered flight have been set to begin in late 2005. The project is being run by Japan's National Aerospace Laboratory. The Japanese government-funded project aims to build a plane that would fly at twice the speed of sound, with the supersonic boom reduced to the rumble of a Boeing 747. It would fly twice the distance of the Concorde and seat three times the passengers. Boeing Co., which is developing its own ``Sonic Cruiser'' -- designed to fly at just under the speed of sound -- was eagerly awaiting the results of the Japanese project. http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-Australia-Supersonic-Jetliner.html?ex=1027616402&ei=1&en=d2b4f84f899c3e75 HOW TO ADVERTISE --------------------------------- For information on advertising in e-mail newsletters or other creative advertising opportunities with The New York Times on the Web, please contact onlinesales@nytimes.com or visit our online media kit at http://www.nytimes.com/adinfo For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@nytimes.com. Copyright 2002 The New York Times Company