Due to scheduling conflicts for use of the U.S. Navy's test range off the coast of Southern California, the final flight of the X-43A hypersonic technology demonstration aircraft has been postponed to no earlier than Monday, Nov. 15.

The exact flight date is dependent both upon the availability of the test range to support the research mission as well as weather considerations.

The mission is intended to flight-validate the operation of the X-43A's supersonic-combustion ramjet – or scramjet – engine at a record airspeed of almost Mach 10, or 10 times the speed of sound.