Editing ThrustSSC

{{Use British English|date=October 2013}} 
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2016}}
{{Infobox automobile
| image = Thrust SSC at Coventry Transport Museum.jpg
| caption = Thrust SSC at the [[Coventry Transport Museum]], where it is part of the permanent collection.
| name = Thrust SSC
| manufacturer = SSC Programme Limited
| aka = 
| production = 
| assembly = 
| predecessor = [[Thrust2]]
| successor = [[Bloodhound LSR]]
| class = [[Land speed record|Land Speed Record vehicle]]
| body_style = 
| layout = 
| platform = 
| engine = two [[Rolls-Royce Spey]] turbofan:-<br /> Rolls-Royce Spey 202
| transmission = 
| wheelbase = 
| length = {{convert|16.5|m|ft|abbr=on}}
| width = {{convert|3.7|m|ft|abbr=on}}
| height = 
| weight = 10.6 tonnes
| related = 
| designer = [[Richard Noble]], Glynne Bowsher, [[Ron Ayers]], Jeremy Bliss and Reece Liebenberg
| sp = UK
}}

[[File:thrustssc.team.750pix.jpg|thumb|right|The team with ThrustSSC]]
[[File:Thrust SSC Wide shot.jpg|alt=|thumb|ThrustSSC on display in the [[Coventry Transport Museum]]'s Landspeed Gallery]]
[[File:Side view of Thrust SSC.jpg|alt=|thumb|Side view of Thrust SSC showing its branding and marks at [[Coventry Transport Museum]]]]
[[File:Jets off the ThrustSSC supersonic car - geograph.org.uk - 1431049.jpg|thumb|right|One of the Rolls-Royce engines in the [[Norfolk and Suffolk Aviation Museum]]]]

'''ThrustSSC''', '''Thrust SSC''' or '''Thrust SuperSonic Car''' is a British [[jet car]] developed by [[Richard Noble]], Glynne Bowsher, [[Ron Ayers]], and Jeremy Bliss.<ref>{{citation|url=http://www.thrustssc.com/thrustssc/Team/team.html|title=ThrustSSC team|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180427140909/http://www.thrustssc.com/thrustssc/Team/team.html|archive-date=27 April 2018}}</ref> Thrust SSC holds the world [[land speed record]], set on 15 October 1997, and piloted by [[Andy Green (RAF officer)|Andy Green]], when it achieved a speed of {{convert|1228|km/h|mph|0|abbr=on}} and it became the first and only land vehicle to officially break the [[sound barrier]].

Alongside [[Thrust2]], Thrust SSC was displayed in the "Spirit of Speed Gallery" of the [[Coventry Transport Museum]] in Coventry, England. As part of the Museum's redevelopment project both cars were relocated by specialist haulier to the new Biffa Award Land Speed Record Gallery which opened in 2015.<ref>{{cite web |last=Michelle |first=Walker |title=Thrust SSC takes to the road |url=https://www.collett.co.uk/thrust-2-and-scc/ |access-date=15 February 2017}}</ref>

The car is {{convert|16.50|m|ft|abbr=on}} long and {{convert|3.7|m|ft|abbr=on}} wide and has a curb weight of 10.6 tons. It had a reported thrust of 223&nbsp;kN (approximately 50,000 pounds force) at some operating conditions. [[Jet engine]]s are not designed to operate at peak airspeed while still in [[ground effect (aerodynamics)|ground effect]]; a proper estimate would need to take this into account.

==Details==
The jet was driven by [[Royal Air Force]] fighter pilot [[Wing commander (rank)|Wing Commander]] [[Andy Green (RAF officer)|Andy Green]] in the [[Black Rock Desert]] in the [[US state]] of [[Nevada]]. It was powered by two [[afterburner (engine)|afterburning]] [[Rolls-Royce Spey]] [[turbofan]] engines, as used in the [[McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II in UK service|British version of the F-4 Phantom II]] jet fighter. The twin engines developed a net [[thrust]] of 223&nbsp;kN (50,000&nbsp;lbf) at the measured record speed of 341&nbsp;metres per second,<ref>{{citation|url=http://www.thrustssc.com/thrustssc/contents-story.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000512021948/http://www.thrustssc.com/thrustssc/contents-story.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=12 May 2000|title=The ThrustSSC Story}}</ref> burning around 18 litres/second (4.0 [[Imperial gallon]]s/s or 4.8 [[US gallon]]s/s) of fuel. This was about {{convert|4850|L/100 km|2|abbr=on}}.

After the record was set, the [[World Motor Sport Council]] released the following message: 
:The World Motor Sport Council [[homologation (motorsport)|homologated]] the new world land speed records set by the team ThrustSSC of Richard Noble, driver Andy Green, on 15 October 1997 at Black Rock Desert, Nevada (USA). This is the first time in history that a land vehicle has exceeded the [[speed of sound]]. The new records are as follows:
:*Flying mile&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;{{convert|1227.985|km/h|mph|abbr=on}}
:*Flying kilometre&nbsp;{{convert|1223.657|km/h|mph|abbr=on}}
:In setting the record, the sound barrier was broken in both the north and south runs.
::::Paris, 11 November 1997.

The complete run history is available.<ref>{{citation |title=Thrust SSC Run database |url=http://www.thrustssc.com/Latest_News/Status-19971015.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130205002454/http://www.thrustssc.com/Latest_News/Status-19971015.html |archive-date=5 Feb 2013 |url-status=live}}{{self-published source|date=October 2022}}{{primary source inline|date=October 2022}}</ref>{{self-published source|date=October 2022}}{{primary source inline|date=October 2022}}{{Dead link|date=October 2022}}

==Legacy==
In 1983 Richard Noble had broken the world land speed record with his earlier car [[Thrust2]], which reached a speed of {{convert|1,019|km/h|mph|abbr=on}}. The date of Andy Green's record came exactly a half century and one day after [[Chuck Yeager]] broke the sound barrier in Earth's atmosphere, with the [[Bell X-1]]
research rocket plane on 14 October 1947.<ref>{{cite web|last=Gill|first=Kathy|title=First supersonic flight in rocket-powered research plane|url=https://wiredpen.com/2022/10/14/first-supersonic-flight-in-rocket-powered-research-plane/|website=WiredPen|access-date=15 October 2022}}</ref>

Both Thrust SSC and Thrust2 are displayed at the [[Coventry Transport Museum]] in [[Coventry]], England. Visitors can ride a 4D [[Simulator ride|motion simulator]] depicting a computer-generated animation of the record-breaking run from the perspective of Green.<ref>[https://www.transport-museum.com/visiting/biffa_award_land_speed_record_exhibition.aspx Coventry Transport Museum – Landspeed Gallery]</ref>

Several teams are competing to break the record, including the [[Bloodhound LSR]] project, launched in 2008,<ref name="Bloodhound SSC">[http://www.bloodhoundssc.com/news/noble-green-and-team-target-1000mph-record Noble, Green and Team Target 1,000mph Record]. Bloodhound Ssc (23 October 2008).</ref> and previously the [[North American Eagle Project]], from 2004 until the project's abandonment after a fatal crash in 2019.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Nash|first1=Jim|title=Rocket Man: Land-Speed Racer Pushes 1,000 MpH Barrier|url=http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/1000-mph-car-land-speed-record/|website=Scientific American|access-date=9 March 2016}}</ref>

== Richard Noble{{snd}}Orange-Intel dispute ==
In June 2012, a television advertisement for the [[Orange (telecommunications)|Orange]] [[Intel AZ210|''San Diego'']] mobile phone, containing an [[Intel]] processor, was broadcast on British television and featured a fast car in [[computer generated imagery]]. Richard Noble claimed that the car was a representation of Thrust SSC and thus these companies had used his intellectual property without permission, putting the future of the [[Bloodhound LSR]] project in doubt. The [[Advertising Standards Authority (United Kingdom)|Advertising Standards Authority]] rejected the Bloodhound team's complaint, claiming that intellectual property disputes were not in its remit. According to BBC News technology correspondent [[Rory Cellan-Jones]], Intel and Orange responded that their production team had researched different styles of "superfast vehicles" and developed their own Orange-branded land speed car, and that the advertisement and phone were not connected to Noble or Bloodhound LSR.<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-18607081 BBC News – Orange, Intel, and a fast car furore]. BBC. (27 June 2012).</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Air speed record]]
* [[Budweiser Rocket]]
* [[List of vehicle speed records]]
* [[RAF High Speed Flight]] 
* [[Rocket car]]
*[[Bloodhound LSR]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==References==
* [[Richard Noble]]: ''Thrust: The Remarkable Story of One Man's Quest for Speed'', Hardcover: Partridge, 1998, {{ISBN|1-85225-268-5}}; Paperback: Bantam, 1999, {{ISBN|0-553-81208-4}}

==External links==
* {{commons category-inline|ThrustSSC}}
*[http://www.thrustssc.com/ Official Thrust SSC website] (no longer being updated)
*[http://www.richard-noble.com/ Richard Noble]
*[http://www.transport-museum.com Coventry Transport Museum] where Thrust SSC is on display
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20130526082118/http://freespace.virgin.net/john.coppinger/thrustss.htm Photo-Diary] by John Coppinger – including the aerial photo by Richard Meredith-Hardy showing the [[shock wave]] as Thrust SSC narrowly exceeds the speed of sound
*[http://www.boris-lux.de/04_types/31_re/97_tss/ts9701.php Thrust SSC] the car and the run
*[http://www.andrewgraves.biz/ssc_stuff/SSC_pics.htm Thrust SSC Photos] Pictures from Blackrock, Nevada – 15 October 1997
* [http://speedrecordclub.com/ Speed Record Club] – The Speed Record Club seeks to promote an informed and educated enthusiast identity, reporting accurately and impartially to the best of its ability on record-breaking engineering, events, attempts and history.

{{S-start}}
{{S-ach|ach}}

{{Succession box|title=[[Land speed record|FIA Outright World Land Speed Record holder]] (1&nbsp;km) |before=ThrustSSC<br />{{nobold|{{small|713.990 MPH, 1,149.055 Km/h<br />set by [[Andy Green (RAF officer)|Andy Green]], on 25 September 1997.}}}}|after=Incumbent|years=760.343 MPH,<br />1,223.657 Km/h<br />set by [[Andy Green (RAF officer)|Andy Green]], on 15 October 1997.}}
{{Succession box|title=[[Land speed record|FIA Outright World Land Speed Record holder]] (1&nbsp;mile) |before=ThrustSSC<br />{{nobold|{{small|714.144 MPH, 1,149.303 Km/h<br />set by [[Andy Green (RAF officer)|Andy Green]], on 25 September 1997.}}}}|after=Incumbent|years=763.035 MPH,<br />1,227.985 Km/h<br />set by [[Andy Green (RAF officer)|Andy Green]], on 15 October 1997.}}
{{S-end}}

{{Thrust project}}
{{Black Rock Desert|brdcat=History}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Jet land speed record cars]]
[[Category:1997 in science]]
[[Category:1997 in the United States]]
[[Category:Black Rock Desert]]
[[Category:Collection of the Coventry Transport Museum]]
[[Category:1997 in sports in Nevada]]
[[Category:Streamliner cars]]