Latest news with #supersonic
The Independent
10 hours ago
- 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.
Yahoo
15 hours ago
- Science
- Yahoo
NASA's sci-fi-looking X-59 feels the supersonic wind blow in test tunnel
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Recently, a team from NASA and the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) tested a model of the X-59 experimental aircraft. What is it? The X-59 aircraft measures around 99.7 feet (30.4 meters) long, with a wingspan of 29.7 feet (9 meters). With the wind tunnel at the JAXA research facility only measuring around three feet (or a meter) across, the researchers realized they would have to test the aircraft using a much smaller model. They scaled down the X-59 to 1.62% of its actual size, around 19 inches from front to back. Then they exposed the model to supersonic wind speeds of approximately 925 miles per hour (or 1,488 km per hour) also known as a cruising speed of Mach 1.4. Where is it? The wind tunnel is at a JAXA research facility in Chofu, Japan. Why is it amazing? The X-59, with its stretched noise and ultrathin wings, is designed to diffuse the supersonic shock waves created when the aircraft travels faster than the speed of sound. So instead of a loud sonic boom, the plane should create more of a "thump" noise. Using a model, the researchers could gain key information about how air flows over and around the aircraft, allowing them to improve its design even further to reduce its noise. This test was the third of a series of wind tunnel tests, giving experts insights into the noise the aircraft makes when flying at high speeds. The X-59 itself was built by Lockheed Martin Skunk Works in California and is slated to make its first historic flight sometime this year. Want to learn more? You can read more about the recent build of the X-59 aircraft and other experimental planes.
Yahoo
15 hours ago
- Science
- Yahoo
NASA's X-59 'quiet' supersonic jet rolls out for its 1st test drive (video)
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. NASA's X-59 "quiet" supersonic jet continues to make its way toward the runway. The X-59 was designed from the ground up to fly faster than the speed of sound without generating the thunderous sonic booms typically associated with supersonic flight. The 99-foot (30-meter) aircraft features a radical elongated design, which eliminates a front windscreen; pilots instead see what's ahead through an augmented reality-enabled closed circuit camera system that NASA calls the External Vision System, or XVS. This month, NASA took the experimental aircraft out for a drive, performing what are known as taxi tests. During these tests, NASA test pilot Nils Larson drove the X-59 across a runway at low speeds so crews could ensure the jet's steering and braking systems work as intended. Next, NASA and Lockheed Martin will perform high-speed taxi tests in which the X-59 will accelerate to close to the speed at which it will take off. VIDEO NOT PLAYING? Some ad blockers can disable our video player. The taxi tests took place at the U.S. Air Force's Plant 42 facility in Palmdale, California. The Air Force and its contractors use the plant to manufacture and test classified aircraft; the X-59 is being developed by Lockheed Martin, whose legendary "Skunk Works" facility is found at Plant 42. Some of the U.S. military's most advanced aircraft were developed to some extent at Plant 42, including the F-22 Raptor, the B-2 Spirit, and the uncrewed RQ-170 Sentinel spy drone. NASA's recently-retired SOFIA airborne observatory aircraft, the "flying telescope," also called Plant 42 home. The agency's space shuttles, the world's first reusable spacecraft, were also assembled and tested at the facility. These taxi tests are only the most recent tests that have taken place over the last several months. Earlier this month, NASA teamed up with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) to test a scale model of the X-59 in a supersonic wind tunnel in order to measure the noise produced beneath the aircraft. Months prior, in May 2025, NASA fed data into the aircraft's computers that simulated being in flight, including experiencing failures. A month before that, NASA ran the X-59 through an "engine speed hold," similar to a car's cruise control, to ensure its engine can maintain a specific speed. But 2025 began with the most photogenic of all: afterburner tests, during which extra fuel was injected into the aircraft's hot exhaust. If the X-59's upcoming tests continue to be successful, NASA will soon conduct a flight test campaign that will see the jet fly over selected populated areas to collect data on how the aircraft's quieter sonic "thumps" are perceived on the ground. The ultimate goal is to develop technologies that can help bring supersonic flight back to the continental United States. Commercial supersonic flight has been banned for decades because of how disruptive the associated sonic booms can be. If the X-59 and other supersonic aircraft can find ways to mitigate these loud sonic booms, supersonic flight could indeed return, greatly reducing flight times for civilian travel, disaster response, medical transport and other applications.
The Sun
3 days ago
- 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
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.
