Latest news with #QuesstMission
The Independent
22-07-2025
- Science
- The Independent
NASA tests new ‘quiet' supersonic plane capable of London-New York flight in under four hours
NASA has begun testing a new supersonic aircraft, almost 22 years after Concorde flew its last passenger service. The 'quiet' X-59 research aircraft – 99.7 feet long, with a wingspan of 29.7 feet – is designed to fly faster than the speed of sound, without generating loud sonic booms. On 10 July, NASA test pilot Nils Larson performed the X-59's first low-speed taxi test at US Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, California. During the taxi test, flight crews monitored steering and braking systems as the aircraft manoeuvred the runway. According to NASA: '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.' The X-59 is part of NASA's Quesst mission to complete a quiet supersonic flight with a 'thump' rather than a sonic boom. The space administration says that the aircraft is expected to fly at 1.4 times the speed of sound, or 925mph, with the potential to connect New York and London in three and a half hours. NASA said that data gathered from the X-59 test flights will be used to inform 'acceptable noise thresholds' for commercial supersonic flights over land. On 27 April 1973, the US federal government banned all civilian supersonic flights over land to prevent the resulting sonic booms from startling the public. NASA's Quesst mission integration manager Peter Coen previously said: 'Instead of a rule based solely on speed, we are proposing the rule be based on sound. If the sound of a supersonic flight isn't loud enough to bother anyone below, there's no reason why the airplane can't be flying supersonic.' Concorde, the last supersonic passenger service, was operated by British Airways from New York's JFK Airport to London's Heathrow Airport on 24 October 2003. The supersonic aircraft suffered a catastrophic crash in Paris on 25 July 2000, which, along with high operating costs and declining passenger numbers, caused the aircraft to be retired.
The Sun
19-07-2025
- Science
- The Sun
NASA's ‘Son of Concorde' jet that will HALVE flight time from US to London step closer to take-off with runway test
NASA's supersonic "Son of Concorde" plane which will halve the travel time between London and New York is zooming ever closer to take-off. The X-59 jet will even break the sound barrier when it flies - but won't produce a sonic boom, thanks to its unique design. 5 5 5 When up and running, the aircraft will hurtle along at altitudes of at speeds of 937mph at 55,000 feet up. Nasa revealed it struck another milestone in the plane's journey toward the skies with crucial low-speed taxiing tests. The X-59 moved around purely under its own power for the first time at US Air Force Plant 42 on July 10. Taxiing is the final stage of ground tests before Nasa can take it up into the skies - and the maiden voyage is chalked for later this year. Over the coming weeks, pilots will gradually increase the speed on the runway - leading to high-speed manoeuvres when it will travel fast enough to take off. Engineers tested key systems like steering and breaking during the low-speed run through. Nasa said: "These checks help ensure the aircraft's stability and control across a range of conditions, giving pilots and engineers confidence that all systems are functioning as expected." The X-59 is the crown jewel in Nasa's Quesst mission - which aims to prove supersonic flight is possible without a deafening sonic boom. Instead, the X-59 will produce a much quieter sonic "thump". Currently, commercial passenger planes are banned from going at such speeds – if they were able to – over land in the UK and US on account of the noise levels. Near-supersonic jet that can fly London-New York at speeds 'not seen since Concorde' unveiled with luxury living spaces The 30m-long and 9m-wide X-59 has a sharp, stiletto-style nose that engineers believe will reduce the noise The space agency believes their new jet could fly from London to New York in three-and-a-half hours. Lori Ozoroski, a project manager at Nasa, previously said: "We had a commercial supersonic aircraft, the Concorde. "But it was limited during its flights that it could not fly, say into, you know, somewhere in the middle of the U.S. "You were not allowed to fly supersonic over land. 5 5 "So most of the flights were back and forth just over the ocean. And so again, that ban has been in place for 50 years, over 50 years in the US. "A lot of international countries as well have similar bans. "And so the whole goal of this research that we're doing right now is to lift that ban and set a speed limit for commercial supersonic aircraft rather than a speed limit." Lori added: "The sound level is more like – we've done studies – it's more like a car door closing, you know, across the street at your neighbour's house rather than the very loud typical sonic boom."
Yahoo
11-03-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
LIVE: Supersonic flight could open door to faster air travel across country
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Imagine flying from Austin to New York in a couple of hours, or even to Dallas in about thirty minutes. A new project launching later this year by NASA could make it possible. The Quesst Mission is the space agency's attempt to develop a new supersonic jet that produces quiet sonic booms, traveling faster than the speed of sound. 'Right now, it takes about five and a half hours to get from New York to Los Angeles. If you were to find a plane like this, that's going Mach 1.4 just a little over under 1000 miles an hour, then you could get there in about three and a half hours,' said NASA Aerospace Engineer Larry Cliatt. Since 1972, supersonic flight over land has been banned in the United States. While commercial airlines like the Concorde proved that supersonic commercial air travel is possible, it can currently only occur within some corridors over the ocean. NASA's mission has developed the X-59. The supersonic plane has a unique design that eliminates excess curves and in the process reduces the volume of sonic booms. 'Future supersonic airplanes are probably going to be long and skinny,' said pilot Nils Larson. 'That's part of that special sauce.' A sonic boom is created when a supersonic jet breaks the sound barrier. Two booms actually occur when the plane breaks the speed of sound. The first happens when air passes over the front of the plane, and the second is when the air collides after it moves over the plane. 'Thunder is a sonic boom. There's just a single boom. But for an airplane, you get a boom, boom,' Larson said. On Tuesday, March 11, Larson and other members of the team spoke at South by Southwest. There, they explained how the plane muffles these sonic booms. 'It kind of gets rid of that startle, that very first boom, and maybe makes it more like a whomp instead versus a really sharp firecracker kind of bang that you'd get from that boom, boom,' Larson said. According to Cliatt, the bigger the change in shape of the plane, the bigger the shockwave created. 'Every component of this airplane is going to emit a shockwave. And at the back of the airplane you have engines, you have tails, you have lifting surfaces, and all of that creates a very complicated problem to solve,' Cliatt said. The X-59 eliminates these changes. At the front is a long 30-foot hollow nose, which tapers into wings and the tail. The engine is on the top of the plane, while the bottom is mostly smooth. Phase one of the project is completed. This phase included construction and testing of the design. Phase two, set to begin this year, is when the plane will take flight. These flights will occur over the supersonic test range at NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center and Edwards Air Force Base in California. Following these flights, phase three will involve going out into communities to see if people could hear the plane, and if so, what exactly they heard. 'Hopefully, they don't hear them at all,' Cliatt said. That phase is scheduled to run 2026 to 2028. Data is scheduled to be posted in 2030. The team hopes the research could lead to commercial bans being lifted and more supersonic planes in the air. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
