NASA recently released a video that captures the first flight of its X-59 supersonic aircraft as it soared above the Southern California desert, allowing us to relive the excitement from the cockpit of the sleek jet. X-59 took to the skies for its inaugural flight on October 28, spending around one hour in the air […]
NASA’s Supersonic Jet Finally Takes off for Its First Super Fast, Super Quiet Flight
NASA’s X-59 aircraft completed its first flight over the Southern California desert, bringing us closer to traveling at the speed of sound without the explosive, thunder-like clap that comes with it. The experimental aircraft, built by aerospace contractor Lockheed Martin, is designed to break the sound barrier, albeit to do it quietly. On Tuesday, X-59 […]
What Ending the U.S. Ban on Supersonic Flight Means for the Future of Travel
It’s been 22 years since the last flight of the Concorde, a now-retired supersonic airliner that flew at a maximum speed of 1,345 miles per hour (2,179 kilometers per hour). At those speeds, you could fly from London to New York City in around three hours. A long-held U.S. ban on supersonic flight over land […]
NASA Just Fired up Its Quiet Supersonic Jet—and It Looks Like Pure Speed
NASA just wrapped engine performance tests on its X-59 research aircraft, which the space agency hopes will prove a means of mitigating supersonic aircraft’s odious sonic booms. NASA and Lockheed Martin ran the tests between October and February on the single modified F414-GE-100 engine that will power the aircraft and its subsystems. “We have successfully […]