From: cleoabram
Once, it was possible to fly commercially faster than the speed of sound [00:00:18]. The Concorde could travel from New York to London in 3.5 hours [00:00:23], allowing passengers to see the curve of the Earth at high altitudes while enjoying champagne [00:00:33]. However, these planes stopped flying, and today, the same journey takes 7 hours [00:00:51].
NASA is now working on a new experimental supersonic plane, the X-59, with the aim of bringing back commercial supersonic flight [00:01:06].
The Era of the Concorde
The Concorde, designed in the 1960s, was a marvel of aircraft design [00:04:06]. It flew at 1,350 mph, roughly the same top speed as a military F-16 fighter jet [00:02:14]. For comparison, the speed of sound (Mach 1) is around 767 mph [00:02:06].
Its distinctive features included:
- A long, narrow body for streamlined air resistance [00:04:59].
- Wide, delta-shaped wings for lift [00:05:01].
- A “droop snoot” nose that lowered for pilot visibility during takeoff and landing [00:05:03].
- Powerful engines and special heat-discharging paint [00:05:14].
Despite its luxury and thrill, the Concorde faced a significant challenge: the sonic boom [00:05:27].
Understanding the Sonic Boom
When a plane flies faster than the speed of sound, air molecules cannot move out of the way in time, causing them to compress and form pressure waves [00:06:00]. These waves are heard on the ground as a “double bang” or “buh-boom” [00:05:35]. Contrary to popular belief, a sonic boom doesn’t happen only once when the plane breaks the sound barrier; it “booooooooms” continuously along the plane’s flight path, “carpeting the ground below it” [00:06:20]. Inside the plane, however, the boom is not heard [00:06:30].
The Concorde’s sonic boom was comparable in loudness to a balloon pop [00:07:01]. This noise led the FAA to ban commercial supersonic flights over the United States in 1973, with similar rules following globally [00:07:09]. This significantly limited flight routes, primarily to over-ocean [00:07:18].
Combined with high fuel consumption, rising fuel costs, and a fatal crash in 2000, public perception of supersonic flight suffered [00:07:23]. Air France and later British Airways retired their Concorde fleets in 2003 [00:07:29].
NASA’s X-59 Quiet Supersonic Technology
The X-59 is NASA’s effort to address the sonic boom problem [00:08:15]. Built by Lockheed Martin at Skunkworks [00:02:37], this single-seater jet is engineered to prove that supersonic planes can be quiet [00:08:19]. The goal is to change regulations to allow supersonic flight over land, provided the sound level is below a certain threshold [00:08:31].
The X-59 can travel at 925 mph (1.4 times the speed of sound) [00:08:19]. Its design incorporates features similar to the Concorde (large delta wings, streamlined body) but with significant innovations to reduce the sonic boom [00:08:43]:
- Extended Nose: The X-59 features a remarkably long, 38-foot carbon fiber nose that doesn’t move [00:08:48]. This nose is key to dampening the initial pressure wave, like a “cannonball” making a smaller “splash” [00:09:17]. Due to the nose’s length, the pilot relies on a camera feed for forward visibility during takeoff and landing [00:09:06].
- Smooth Underside: The bottom of the aircraft is designed to be very smooth and clean, directing any potential shockwaves upwards, away from people [00:09:32].
- T-Tail: This feature at the back of the plane creates its own shockwave that interacts with and cancels out the “big shock on the back end of the airplane,” further reducing the boom [00:09:54].
- Anti-Static Paint: The X-59 uses a special paint that acts like “Teflon on your shoes” to prevent the buildup of static electricity as the plane moves through the air [00:11:45].
NASA anticipates that a perceived level of 75 PLdB will be sufficiently quiet [00:11:22]. This level is described as sounding like a neighbor closing their car door, or often not being heard at all [00:11:27].
“Really this is our one opportunity to try to repeal the law. This is our one chance to get it right.” [00:10:55]
The X-59 is a one-off experimental aircraft, dedicated solely to demonstrating quiet low-boom supersonic flight [00:12:04].
The Future of Commercial Supersonic Travel
If NASA succeeds in demonstrating quiet supersonic flight and helps change regulations, it could open the door for more companies to develop commercial supersonic planes [00:10:25]. Companies like Boom are already working to bring these planes to market [00:10:38], with some airlines already placing orders [00:12:53].
However, the return of passenger supersonic flight is still at least a decade away [00:12:40], as it requires extensive testing and a multi-year regulatory process [00:12:35]. Beyond resolving the sonic boom, future supersonic planes will need to be more sustainable, less fuel-intensive, cheaper, and capable of carrying more passengers [00:13:37].