I haven't asked my father, who is a Big Guy in the field, what he thinks of the recent report that an Australian group has acheived hypersonic flight, but I plan to. The test vehicle, fitted to a rocket, apparenlty did acheive hypersonic (greater than mach 5) combustion. This test is one of the prerequisites to the use of hypersonic airbreathing propulsion for commercial flight and space launch capabilities. Commercial use is probably decades away.