adverb
- in a manner relating to or traveling at hypersonic speed (speeds greater than Mach 5, or roughly five times the speed of sound)
Usage: technical; aeronautics
Examples
- The spacecraft entered the atmosphere hypersonically, generating extreme heat from air friction.
- Hypersonically traveling missiles present unique challenges for defense systems.
- The aircraft was designed to operate hypersonically at altitudes above 50,000 feet.
- Engineers studied how materials behave when exposed to hypersonically induced temperatures.
- The test vehicle accelerated hypersonically through the upper atmosphere during the experiment.