i agree with others above that a manned flight is worth more than what was achieved, but this is not too say that the blokes who designed it did nothing short of an outstanding acheivement & it does pave the way for future projects & aircraft design. Congrats to all involved.
but lets face it - i would prefer to see an aircraft that is able to reach that speed by its OWN means - from 0 to max speed and back to a controlled zero (without crashing to acheive it). I dont think a piggy back buy a mothership then a rocket counts for such records (comparing the Sr-71 & concord to the X-43 - two very different styles of planes - its like a bloke in the Super Heavy Weight division fighting a bloke in the feather weight league). I understand that this was required to force the surrounding oxygen to fuel the engine, but i suppose its a start!
second of all - i dont think mach 8 at that altitude really counts. Its like doing mach 10 in space. I'm no physics scientist and i do understand that friction at lower altitudes will destory the aircraft at those speeds. but c'mon? I know that the future of travel may require planes to go that high, but its kind of cheating - you are comparing apples & oranges! it should be relative - and in that case what is the speed of sound at 8,000ft, cos the speed of sound is measured at sea level (please correct me if i'm wrong).
I dont want to get into a slinging match with any of you aero buffs or engineers who know a heck lot more than me.
lastly, i do applaud the achievement, cos just like the Wright Brothers 100yrs ago, it takes something so little to change the world in which we live. Well done!