In May of 1971, the Federal Aviation Administration formally banned the commercial use of jets that passed beyond Mach 1 due to the extreme noise caused by a sonic boom. A sonic boom is the thunderness noise caused by breaking the sound barrier.
After 50 years, NASA’s Quesst Mission and Lockheed Martin have finally revealed their “quiet” supersonic jet. According to NASA, the X-59 is designed to travel 925 mph or 1.4 times the speed of sound. The shape of the jet causes a “sonic tump,” rather than a sonic boom by breaking up the shockwave.
According to the BCC, the X-59 is about 100 feet long and 30 feet wide. One third of the length is just the nose of the plane. The cockpit has been moved from the front to the middle of the plane and the front windows were removed opting for cameras and screens inside the cockpit. The jet has only recently been revealed, with test flights scheduled for later this year. Once completed, NASA will fly the jet over selected cities across the U.S. to collect data about the sound made upon crossing the sound barrier. This data will be sent to the FAA with the hope of making supersonic flight commercial once again. Commercial supersonic travel would allow for faster, shorter flights across the globe.
