A new method of hypersonic flow generation is proposed and the results of an experimental study of hypersonic flow past cones with half-angles = 3° and = 12° are presented. The Mach numbers of the studied incident flows were = 18 ( = 3°) and = 14.4 ( = 12°). The use of a light-gas facility, where an accelerating channel was replaced with Laval nozzle, allows us to obtain a hypersonic outflow with optical density sufficiently high for flow visualization and diagnostics with the help of optical methods. The flow structure was visualized by means of the shadow method using the Foucault knife and the slit. Shadowgraphs were recorded by a high-speed camera with a frame rate of 300,000 fps and an exposure time of 1 µs. The Mach number for the incident flow was calculated from the inclination angle of the shock wave on shadowgraphs.