Can Humans Handle Mach 20 Speeds?

Humankind has always fixed its gaze upon the heavens and dreamed of soaring higher, faster, further. As a gamer fascinated by technology pushing boundaries, I eagerly track attempts to crack milestones like Mach 20 — that‘s over 15,000 mph or 20 times the speed of sound! But can human bodies really withstand such blistering velocities in this day and age?

Based on all evidence and research so far, current human physiology has firm limits well below Mach 20. The extreme G-forces and aerothermal effects would simply be too much. As one scientist put it: "It would be like trying to keep a blue whale alive on top of Mount Everest in a hailstorm. There are some problems up there that the body is just not designed to solve."

Yet while reaching for the stars today remains beyond us, I firmly believe tomorrow may tell a different tale. Let‘s examine what‘s holding us back currently, then play a brief game of "what if" for the future…

Flying High: Records and Limitations So Far

Humans have proven remarkably resilient even in extreme environments — but acceleration is our Achilles‘ heel. The best pilots can handle no more than 9Gs for short bursts before G-lock sets in. Effects intensify drastically in hypersonic realms above Mach 5. And Mach 20 is over four times faster again.

Our fastest manned flights so far peaked at around 25,000 mph during NASA‘s Apollo program — that‘s still over 13x slower! Russian MiG fighters reportedly pulled over 14Gs, albeit with extensive pilot protections unavailable to the public at large.

In short, Mach 20‘s raw speed and neck-breaking acceleration does not jive with vulnerable human flesh and blood. Which is why all recent programs eyeing this scale (such as the USAF/DARPA HTV-2) utilize unmanned systems.

Pushing the Envelope: Tech Aiming for Hypersonic+++

Yet multiple high-profile joint projects still actively target sustained hypersonic velocities, mostly for advanced munitions but with potential spinoffs. Russia claims a missile hitting Mach 27 using "unique scramjet tech" — their Avangard system entering limited service.

The US Falcon HTV-2 aircraft aims to hit Mach 20 too (under DARPA). It uses next-gen materials like carbon-carbon composites able to withstand immense friction heating when that Mach figure quintuples the SR-71‘s record… for now.

And NASA returned to supersonic research in 2021, partnering with Lockheed‘s Skunkworks. I speculate aviation agencies already know far more than publicly shared about future hypervelocity craft. The space agencies definitely hold secrets up their sleeves too!

Now, these vehicles almost uniformly ditch human crews despite their extreme velocity aims. But it bears asking…

What IF?? Wild Speculation on Overcoming Limits

Can radical banking manuevers saving pilots from crushing G-effects be automated? Might biomechanical flight suits circumvent biology‘s speed barriers? What about electromagnetic shields to deflect superheated shock layers forming above Mach 15? And could athletes and pilots consciously evolve stronger acceleration tolerance across generations?

I stress none of these have shreds of evidence (yet)! But the endless human drive to overcome limits has constantly surprised. Someone surely works on these puzzles behind classified doors. And innovations leveraged from that research could trickle down to improve society in countless ways later, as space program spinoffs have done for decades.

My dreamer side yearns to tear across the skies at Mach 20 one day. My gamer side thrills at helping push this tech envelope ever further outward. And my inner futurist says nothing worth achieving comes easily without outlandish thought experiments. Maybe our destiny above does hold such promise in some shape or form.

So while actually surviving such speed remains clearly impossible today, I‘ll eagerly watch what emerges tomorrow! Want to imagineer with me? Ping me your wildest ideas for overcoming current barriers to hypervelocity flight!