Latest news with #QueSST
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
NASA's supersonic X-59 jet that could slash NYC-London flight time in half taxis closer to take off
Breakfast in New York, midmorning snack in London. Taxi tests are underway on a highly anticipated supersonic plane designed to quietly break the sound barrier — and slash flight time between New York and London in half. The X-59 jet, dubbed the 'son of Concorde,' is one step closer to takeoff after the experimental aircraft taxied on a California runway at low speed using its own power for the first time on July 10, NASA said in a press release. The ground maneuvers at the US Air Force's Plant 42 in Palmdale mark the final series of trials for the 100-foot-long, 30-foot-wide jet before its maiden voyage, which is slated for sometime this year, according to the space agency. 'Over the coming weeks, the aircraft will gradually increase its speed, leading up to a high-speed taxi test that will take the aircraft just short of the point where it would take off,' officials said. The high-tech plane, unveiled by NASA and Lockheed Martin last year, is the centerpiece of the space agency's QueSST mission to produce a quieter sonic boom for communities below and revolutionize air travel, potentially cutting transit time down significantly for commercial flights. It could possibly fly from New York to London flight in three and a half hours, the agency previously said. The new aircraft's innovative design and shape will cause it to produce a quiet 'thump' sound as it reaches speeds of up to 925 miles per hour, officials said. Supersonic flights have been banned in the US and other countries for the past half-century due to the thunderous sound generated when planes exceed the speed of sound — 767 miles per hour. But the X-59's thin, tapered nose is expected to break up shock waves that would cause the high-speed roar on a conventional aircraft, NASA previously boasted. The latest innovation will succeed the British Airways Concorde, which reached speeds of around 1,350 miles per hour and completed its fastest transatlantic flight in just under three hours on Feb. 7, 1996. The aircraft, which debuted in 1976, was plagued by costly maintenance and a fatal 2000 crash. It was retired from commercial service in 2003.
New York Post
3 days ago
- Science
- New York Post
NASA's supersonic X-59 jet that could slash NYC-London flight time in half taxis closer to take off
Breakfast in New York, midmorning snack in London. Taxi tests are underway on a highly anticipated supersonic plane designed to quietly break the sound barrier — and slash flight time between New York and London in half. The X-59 jet, dubbed the 'son of Concorde,' is one step closer to takeoff after the experimental aircraft taxied on a California runway at low speed using its own power for the first time on July 10, NASA said in a press release. The ground maneuvers at the US Air Force's Plant 42 in Palmdale mark the final series of trials for the 100-foot-long, 30-foot-wide jet before its maiden voyage, which is slated for sometime this year, according to the space agency. 3 NASA's X-59 quiet supersonic aircraft taxiing on a runway. Youtube/NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center 'Over the coming weeks, the aircraft will gradually increase its speed, leading up to a high-speed taxi test that will take the aircraft just short of the point where it would take off,' officials said. The high-tech plane, unveiled by NASA and Lockheed Martin last year, is the centerpiece of the space agency's QueSST mission to produce a quieter sonic boom for communities below and revolutionize air travel, potentially cutting transit time down significantly for commercial flights. It could possibly fly from New York to London flight in three and a half hours, the agency previously said. 3 NASA's X-59 quiet supersonic aircraft conducting its final tests before its maiden voyage. Carla Thomas/NASA / SWNS The new aircraft's innovative design and shape will cause it to produce a quiet 'thump' sound as it reaches speeds of up to 925 miles per hour, officials said. Supersonic flights have been banned in the US and other countries for the past half-century due to the thunderous sound generated when planes exceed the speed of sound — 767 miles per hour. 3 The aircraft is expected to revolutionize air travel. NASA But the X-59's thin, tapered nose is expected to break up shock waves that would cause the high-speed roar on a conventional aircraft, NASA previously boasted. The latest innovation will succeed the British Airways Concorde, which reached speeds of around 1,350 miles per hour and completed its fastest transatlantic flight in just under three hours on Feb. 7, 1996. The aircraft, which debuted in 1976, was plagued by costly maintenance and a fatal 2000 crash. It was retired from commercial service in 2003.
Yahoo
29-01-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
NASA's about to fly its powerful X-plane. It could make history.
Planes that fly faster than the speed of sound create thunderous supersonic booms. But with NASA's X-59 plane, that could change. The space agency plans for the aircraft's first flight in 2025, an endeavor that seeks to turn the booms to "barely audible" thumps and make supersonic flight possible over land. Over a half-century ago, the U.S. banned commercial planes from flying at supersonic speeds over the nation, but NASA's Quiet SuperSonic Technology mission, or QueSST, seeks to change that. "Kudos to NASA for working on this. For trying to find a real solution," Bob van der Linden, an aviation expert and supervisory curator at the Aeronautics Department of the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum, told Mashable when NASA revealed the sleek plane last year. SEE ALSO: How Oppenheimer built an atomic bomb before the Nazis Though the economic case and demand for future supersonic flights remains uncertain — flying at such high speeds burns bounties of fuel and drives higher ticket prices — it would revolutionize flight. A passenger could speed from Los Angeles to New York City in just two and a half hours. (Seats on the 1,300 mph Concorde plane, retired in 2003, were too expensive for most passengers, at some five times the cost of flying on a 747, which is largely why the plane commercially failed. It also couldn't legally fly over land, which limited the Concorde's routes.) NASA awarded the aerospace company Lockheed Martin, which also makes U.S. fighter jets, a $247.5 million contract to build the X-59 craft, and as the images below show, the plane is in its final testing stages before taking flight over the California desert. Lockheed posted the image below on Jan. 24, showing burning gases shooting out the back of the engine. NASA noted in December that it was now running afterburner engine tests, which gives an aircraft the thrust it needs to reach supersonic speeds of over some 767 mph. The X-59 aircraft will zoom at 925 mph some 55,000 feet above several U.S. communities to gauge the 100-foot-long experimental craft's ability to quell the unsettling supersonic booms. Afterburner tests on the X-59 plane performed at Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works facility in Palmdale, California. Credit: Lockheed Martin Corporation / Garry Tice To quell the booms an aircraft makes when breaking the sound barrier, engineers employed a number of design innovations on the X-59: Overall Shape: The X-59's sleek, elongated structure, with a particularly long nose, is designed to "spread out" the shockwaves made when the craft collides with atmospheric molecules. If it works, the plane won't send out violent shockwaves. "Instead, all people will hear is a quiet 'sonic thump' — if they hear anything at all," NASA explained. Engine: The plane's single, powerful engine is on top of the craft, where the rumble won't be directed toward Earth's surface. Cockpit / Windscreen: The X-59 is extremely skinny, so narrow that the cockpit, located over halfway back on the plane, has a constricted view of what lies ahead. There's not a forward-facing window. Fortunately, there's a solution: NASA's eXternal Vision System (XVS) provides a high-definition display of the world beyond. "A 4K-monitor serves as the central 'window' allowing the pilot to safely see traffic in their flight path," NASA said. Wings: Engineers built the aircraft with "swept back" wings, a design meant to reduce drag. After the first test flights in 2025, Lockheed Martin will transfer the plane to NASA. Then, after acoustic testing over California's Edwards Air Force Base and Armstrong Flight Research Center, NASA will fly the X-plane over select U.S. cities in 2026 and 2027. Stay tuned. The X-59 might fly above you.
