Today's Edition
New York (DPA)
The US space agency NASA has presented its new supersonic aircraft X-59 to the public for the first time. The jet, which is around 30 metres long and pointed at the front with a wingspan of around 10 metres, was unveiled on Friday at a site belonging to defence contractor Lockheed Martin in the US state of California. NASA streamed live images of the unveiling over the internet.
The aircraft is the centrepiece of NASA's "Quesst" (Quiet SuperSonic Technology) mission. The first flight tests over selected regions of the US are planned for later this year, during which further data will be collected.
The "X-59" is an "approximately 30 metre long step forward on a path that began decades ago, towards sustainable commercial supersonic flight", said NASA manager Bob Pearce. NASA Vice President Pam Melroy described the aircraft as "another jewel in NASA's crown."
Together with @LockheedMartin, we've unveiled our new X-59 supersonic plane. The X-59 will fly later this year on the #Quesst mission to test quieter sonic booms.
— NASA (@NASA) January 12, 2024
What we learn could reopen the skies to commercial supersonic air travel: https://t.co/RjK3CGoFWy pic.twitter.com/028hjyUNDU
The special thing about the "X-59" is that the aircraft should be able to fly without a supersonic bang. When flying supersonically, the airspeed is greater than the speed of sound in the vicinity of the aircraft. If an aircraft breaks through the sound barrier in the air, there is a very loud bang, the "sonic boom."
A sonic boom occurs not only at the instant an object exceeds the sound barrier, rather it is a continuous effect while the object is traveling at supersonic speeds. It's also not heard in all directions from the supersonic object, but only affects observers at the edge of an area shaped like a geometrical cone behind the object, and which moves at the same speed as the object.
The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has banned all civil supersonic flights over the US until further notice. The "X-59" is designed to fly at an altitude of around 16 kilometres at a speed of 1,500 kilometres per hour. Instead of a loud bang, it only produces a sound as loud as the slamming of a car door.
Lockheed Martin has received around $250 million dollars from NASA for the development of the aircraft. The last time there were regular supersonic passenger flights was around 20 years ago with the legendary Concorde between Paris, London and New York.
After an accident in Paris with more than 100 fatalities in 2000, operations were discontinued in 2003. In addition to NASA and Lockheed Martin, other companies are also currently working on a return of supersonic jets.
