Posted on 07/06/2017 1:00:48 PM PDT by BenLurkin
QueSST is the preliminary design stage of NASA's Low Boom Flight Demonstration (LBFD) experimental airplane, also known as an X-plane. So far, a scale model of QueSST has been tested in an 8-by-6-foot supersonic wind tunnel at NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland. The next phase will be to test the technologies in flight, Coen said in the video.
"So to do that, we're building an X-plane design and the eventual Low Boom Flight Demonstration aircraft that represents the boom of a larger airplane," Coen added. "The idea is to prove the technology; show how robust it is in a variety of atmospheric conditions, but ultimately to prove that the sound that is created is acceptable to people on the ground."
Last week, QueSST was reviewed by NASA engineers, as well as experts from the Lockheed Martin Corp. — the lead contractor NASA partnered with in February 2016 to create the initial design of the supersonic aircraft. The teams concluded that "the QueSST design is capable of fulfilling the LBFD aircraft's mission objectives, which are to fly at supersonic speeds — 1.4 times the speed of sound — but create a soft 'thump' instead of the disruptive sonic boom associated with supersonic flight today," according to a statement from NASA.
Completing the initial review of the design's operational effectiveness is a major milestone in NASA's initiative to make supersonic passenger jet travel over land possible. This also means that NASA can begin the process to collecting proposals and awarding a contract to build a piloted LBFD X-plane, and then possibly start flight testing as early as 2021, according to the statement.
(Excerpt) Read more at space.com ...
Can’t remember the last time I heard a sonic boom. Used to hear them all the time growing up. I thought they were cool, but our dog didn’t like them very much.
I remember them, too, in upstate NY. Things were different post WW II and in the Cold War. Didn’t they essentially get outlawed?
Yes. There’s only a few places over land they can be done. Edwards AFB and China Lake are a couple.
I was living in southern Indiana in the early 60’s and I remember hearing sonic booms from B-58’s.
Well the last time you went shooting or cracked a whip
The F 16’s when they were stationed near me used to break the sound barrier every once in a while, but only over lake Huron.
CC
Could someone please explain how aerodynamic shape can change a sonic boom to a less loud thud?
1) The shape of the aircraft can be tailored to produce several small shockwaves instead of one large shockwave. This reduces the boom by spreading it out in time.
2) Several methods are being experimented with to improve laminar flow over the aircraft, reducing total shockwave energy.
Thank you, especially for putting in terms I can understand.
UFO’s never make a sonic boom.
Copy them.
The last time I heard one was the day some nitwit (who hadn’t read the NOTAR that former President Odouchbag was in Seattle) blundered into the no-fly zone. They scrambled 2 F-15’s from Portland and they went supersonic to get their assets up here.
The boom shook the house and made the big front picture window vibrate wildly.
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