NASA Successfully Tests Supersonic Jet for Faster Air Travel
After nearly ten years of development, NASA’s supersonic jet, known as “Son of Concorde,” has completed its first test flight. The 100-foot-long aircraft, built by Lockheed Martin for NASA, successfully took off from Palmdale Regional Airport in California at 10:15 EDT on Tuesday. It completed oval-shaped loops for about an hour before safely landing at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center, 25 miles northeast of the airport.
The flight reached a peak altitude of 12,000 feet, which is less than half the cruising altitude of a commercial plane. However, experts have high hopes that the jet will eventually reach 55,000 feet at supersonic speeds of up to 925 mph. This would allow for a London to New York flight in under four hours, revolutionizing the air travel industry and saving time for busy businesspeople and vacationers.
“We are thrilled to achieve the first flight of the X-59,” said OJ Sanchez, vice president and general manager of Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works division. “This aircraft is a testament to the innovation and expertise of our joint team, and we are proud to be at the forefront of quiet supersonic technology development.
The X-59, officially known as X-59, performed according to plan and landed safely at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center. However, it only reached speeds of 230 mph during the flight, far from its top speed of 925 mph, which is faster than the speed of sound. Lockheed Martin plans to conduct further test flights in the coming months to expand the X-59’s flight envelope and reach its top speed.
Despite falling short of the all-important speed threshold, experts are celebrating this as a new era in supersonic flight. Sean Duffy, Secretary of the Department of Transportation and acting NASA administrator, called the experimental plane “a symbol of American ingenuity” and praised the American spirit of always wanting to go farther and faster.
The X-59 is nicknamed “Son of Concorde” because it will be the first passenger plane to reach supersonic speeds since the retirement of the Anglo-French Concorde over 20 years ago. One of the main issues with Concorde was the loud sonic booms it produced, which led to its early retirement in 2003. These sonic booms occur when shock waves from an object traveling faster than the speed of sound merge together before reaching the ground. In contrast, the X-59 has a thin, tapered nose that breaks up the shock waves, resulting in a quieter “thump” instead of a loud boom.
The cockpit of the X-59 is located halfway down the length of the aircraft, and it does not have a forward-facing window. Instead, it is equipped with an “eXternal Vision System” that uses high-resolution cameras to feed a 4K monitor in the cockpit.