In this assignment you will be required to  

1. Do some of the research in class and hand in a draft for 10% of your marks in week 7. You will  be given the last hour in week 7 to research the topic you have chosen. You must produce a draft  consisting of the basic report structure, dot points or short sentences for Parts A to D below, and  five references.  
2. Submit the final report on Monday afternoon in week 11. Your draft and report should be  consistent. 

In order to complete a final report you will have to find and read relevant articles on your chosen topic and  write a report supported by this information in your own words. A minimum of five (5) references should  be listed, and Harvard referencing should be used. 

Introduction

With the beginning of the Wright brother's first airplane in 1903, developments in aeronautics astronautics over the last century are aimed at cheap, faster and increased altitude flights and now the era of hypersonic flights has commenced (Jiang & Yu 2017).  The real-world launch of hypersonic airplanes would result in societal revolution as a two-hour flight to anywhere across the globe is possible with the application of reusable rocket techniques. The hypersonic flights are regarded as the future drivers for national security, passenger transportation and ease of space access (Chen 2017). Despite the research of government funded research agencies and private aircraft technology developers, successful manned and unmanned flights and over 50 years of research the use of hypersonic flights in commercial air transportation is still far ahead to be achieved.

PART A: Choose a disruptive technology from an industry of your choice.

Hypersonic Aircraft for Commercial Passenger Travel

A hypersonic aircraft is capable of ferrying passengers to any location across the world in less than three hours. It is capable of making commercial air travel faster and convenient (Chen 2017). It would allow international day trips to become more a routine scenario. However, a hypersonic aircraft for passenger travel poses several questions – whether a rocket would serve the purpose of an airplane and would passengers be able to handle it. Another major issue is the financial difficulties faced by this venture i.e, determining the profitability of the technology in a niche transportation mode. 

PART B: Describe some history in relation to the technology and the industry you chose.

Commercial Aviation Industry Background

Subject to the growth of demographic and economic conditions, commercial air transportation is on the rise. It is reported that there are around 2,000 airlines operating over 23,000 aircrafts at 3,700 airports serving 3.5 billion passengers annually, which is about 96,000 passengers per day (Schilling 2016). The industry has grown at a rate of 5% per year for the last 30 years, and it is expected to double in the next ten years. To meet air traveller expectations, airlines are increasing the quality of experience based on their needs, undertaking cost reduction measures, enhancing operational efficiency and expanding into new destinations. One of the key trends observed are technology improvements involving digitization of the airline business, real-time resource planning and allocation and installation of high-tech equipment and engines.

(Some parts of the solution has been blurred due to privacy protection policy)