NASA test pilots Nils Larson (left), James Less (right), and Lockheed Martin test pilot Dan "Dog" Canin (center) pose with the newly-painted X-59 at Lockheed Martin Skunk Works in Palmdale last month. NASA/Steve Freeman/SWNS
Posted on 01/15/2024 1:17:40 PM PST by Libloather
Aeronautic officials debuted a new quiet supersonic plane capable of flying faster than the speed of sound and getting from New York to London in three and a half hours.
The 100-foot long 30-foot wide X-59 supersonic aircraft, dubbed “son of Concorde,” was rolled out by NASA and Lockheed Martin on Friday, an innovation officials said they expected to revamp commercial air travel.
The Concorde aircraft, which could travel some 1,350 miles per hour, was retired some 20 years ago after launching in 1976, plagued by costly maintenance and a fatal 2000 crash.
Its new progeny can travel 925 miles per hour while generating a less disruptive sonic boom to communities below due to innovations in design, shaping and technologies, officials said.
Over the past half-century, the US and other nations have banned supersonic flights because of the startling booms created when planes exceed the speed of sound, which is 767 miles per hour, NASA noted in a press release.
The plane’s thin tapered nose was expected to break up shock waves that would cause a sonic boom on a conventional aircraft, and its cockpit is located about halfway down the length of the plane, meaning pilots would have to rely on camera monitors to operate it.
The X-59 is part of NASA’s Quesst mission, which is aimed at “providing data to help regulators reconsider” the ban.
“This is a major accomplishment made possible only through the hard work and ingenuity from NASA and the entire X-59 team,” said NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy.
“In just a few short years we’ve gone from an ambitious concept to reality. NASA’s X-59 will help change the way we travel, bringing us closer together in much less time.”
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
Does it run off of batteries?
The SR71 does it in less than an hour.
I don’t want to go to ny or London even if you transport me instantly
It looks like the Moon and Mars are off the table—gonna have to settle for London.
Lol—this is like the days of the steamships—think of it as devolution in action.
On that train all graphite and glitter
Undersea by rail
Ninety minutes from New York to Paris
Well by seventy-six we’ll be A-OK
Why is NASA developing the next generation of commercial aircraft?
Oh, that’s right, because our government operates in service to the military-congressional-industrial complex.
What a beautiful world this will be
somewhat limited passenger capacity though
“Why is NASA developing the next generation of commercial aircraft?”
Because Boeing sucks?
Test flights WHEN?
NASA test pilots Nils Larson (left), James Less (right), and Lockheed Martin test pilot Dan "Dog" Canin (center) pose with the newly-painted X-59 at Lockheed Martin Skunk Works in Palmdale last month. NASA/Steve Freeman/SWNS
Carries one person per flight?
Might take a while to amortize this baby.
LOL !
Even if you transport me instantly free of charge.
> Why is NASA developing the next generation of commercial aircraft? <
I’ll field that one. The federal government is running a huge and growing deficit. So naturally we have to fund all sorts of unnecessary things.
But, wait. Perhaps this X-59 aircraft can be used to quickly drop bundles of US taxpayer money all over the world. Okay. It makes sense now.
💸 💸 💸
I had a gig at Falon Naval Air Station in Nevada where they did a lot of Super Sonic flight training.
You would hear a boom or two every day. The funny part was it was causing our disk drive heads to touch the surface. We had bad sectors all over the place.
It will crash.
Should have been named ‘Daughter of Concorde’.
But not quietly
Steely Dan. Good obscure reference. Love me some Dan of Steel.
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