NASA’s X-59 aircraft completed its first flight over the Southern California desert, bringing us closer to traveling at the speed of sound without the explosive, thunder-like clap that comes with it.
The experimental aircraft, built by aerospace contractor Lockheed Martin, is designed to break the sound barrier, albeit to do it quietly. On Tuesday, X-59 took off from the company’s Skunk Works facility in Palmdale, California, for the first in its initial series of test flights. The plane aced its test, verifying the aircraft’s performance during an approximately hour-long flight before landing near NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California.
Keep it down
When planes fly faster than the speed of sound, Mach 1, or about 767 miles per hour (1,234 kilometers per hour), they create a loud, explosive noise due to the shock waves created by the extreme speeds. The noise, known as a sonic boom, can startle people living in cities where supersonic jets fly overhead.
In 1973, the Federal Aviation Administration prohibited supersonic flights of non-military aircraft over land to prevent the audible disturbance. At the time, aerospace technology was not nearly as advanced as it is today. Since then, however, research has shown ways to soften the sounds of supersonic flights. President Donald Trump reversed the ban on commercial supersonic flights in June, instructing the FAA to establish a standard for supersonic aircraft noise certification.
NASA began working on a quiet supersonic aircraft nearly a decade ago, paying $518 million to Lockheed Martin to develop X-59. The plane’s sharp design is meant to reduce the pressure change that flows over the ground, thereby reducing the impact of sonic booms. X-59’s engine is mounted on top of the aircraft, which reduces the amount of noise from the plane that reaches the ground.
“People below would hear sonic ‘thumps’ rather than booms, if they hear anything at all,” NASA wrote in a statement. Earlier this year, NASA wrapped up a series of tests on the single modified F414-GE-100 engine powering the entire plane and its subsystems. The engine testing made way for the X-59 to finally take flight.
Over the coming months, NASA and Lockheed Martin will continue to test the in-flight capabilities of X-59, which will include the plane’s first supersonic flights. During those flights, the plane will attempt to reach its desired speed and altitude, along with a quiet, rather than sonic, boom. From there, NASA will begin to measure X-59’s sound signature and conduct community acceptance testing, according to Lockheed Martin.
If commercial supersonic flights do make a comeback, it would greatly reduce travel time. Flying at a maximum speed of 1,345 miles per hour (2,179 kilometers per hour), you could fly from London to New York City via a quick, hopefully quiet, three-hour trip.