2024-01-13 08:01:28
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 meters long and has a pointed front with a wingspan of around ten meters, was presented on Friday at a site belonging to the defense company Lockheed Martin in the US state of California, as live images from NASA showed. The aircraft is the heart of the “Quesst” (Quiet SuperSonic Technology) mission. It should be able to fly without a supersonic boom.
The first flight tests are planned over selected regions of the USA over the course of the year, during which further data will be collected.
The “X-59” is a “roughly 30-meter step forward on a path that began decades ago toward sustainable commercial supersonic flight,” said NASA manager Bob Pearce. Vice President Pam Melroy called the aircraft “another jewel in NASA’s crown.”
The special thing regarding the “X-59”: The machine should be able to fly without a supersonic noise. When flying supersonic, the airspeed is greater than the speed of sound in the area around the aircraft. If an airplane breaks the sound barrier in the air, there is a very loud bang. It is not just heard once, but is created constantly. As long as the aircraft flies at supersonic speeds, certain sound waves are created that travel along its route at the same speed as the aircraft and can be heard. Partly because this worries and bothers many people, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has banned all civil supersonic flights over the USA until further notice.
The “X-59” is supposed to fly at an altitude of around 16 kilometers at around 1,500 kilometers per hour – and instead of a loud bang, it only produces a noise that is as loud as the slamming of a car door. Lockheed Martin received around $250 million (around €230 million) from NASA to develop the aircraft.
The last time there were regular supersonic 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 deaths in 2000, operations were stopped in 2003 due to high losses. In addition to NASA and Lockheed Martin, other companies are currently working on the return of supersonic jets.
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