Portugal’s hypersonic test 'generates flow hotter than Sun’s surface'

Portugal has achieved a significant milestone in hypersonic research by successfully conducting a test at the European Shock Tube for High Enthalpy Research (ESTHER) facility, reaching speeds of approximately Mach 25 (about 8 km/s). This test, carried out by the Institute of Plasmas and Nuclear Fusion (IPFN) at Instituto Superior Técnico, simulated extreme atmospheric re-entry conditions, generating gas temperatures and pressures exceeding those on the Sun’s surface. The intense shock wave produced a bright flash, visually confirming the extreme physical environment created inside the facility. This breakthrough places Portugal among a select group of countries with experimental capabilities in hypersonic flow research, relevant for spacecraft thermal protection and planetary atmosphere exploration. ESTHER, inaugurated in 2019 and developed over 15 years through an international consortium led by IPFN and supported by the European Space Agency (ESA), is designed to replicate the high-temperature, high-pressure plasma conditions encountered during atmospheric re-entry and hypersonic flight. The facility operates remotely