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CANBERRA, Nov 3 (Reuters) - The Australian government said on Saturday it had commissioned an inquiry into last week's failed attempt at the world's first test flight of a hypersonic "scramjet" engine.

"Scramjet" is short for supersonic combustion ramjet and some believe this engine may one day be able to fly people at eight times the speed of sound into space.

A rocket with the scramjet attached was launched from a military site at Woomera in South Australia state last Tuesday but the world's first air-breathing supersonic test flight was thwarted when the rocket flew off course.

Science Minister Nick Minchin said in a statement the investigation was expected to identify what went wrong with the "HyShot" booster rocket used in the experiment.

It will be headed by Neville McMartin, a senior Aviation Transport Safety Investigator from the Australian Transport Safety Bureau.

A second launch has been postponed awaiting results from the formal investigation.

The test involved the rocket carrying the scramjet, developed by scientists from the University of Queensland, about 314 kms (196 miles) into the upper atmosphere before the engine fell back to earth.

Oxygen rushing into the scramjet was supposed to ignite with hydrogen fuel on the way back down, at 37 kms (23 miles) above the earth, allowing it to reach a speed of Mach 7.6, or 7.6 times the speed of sound, before crashing into the ground.

The Australian experiment had been eagerly awaited since the failed test in June of NASA's unmanned X-43A scramjet prototype.

23:59 11-02-01

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Australia's Hypersonic Scramjet