Science & Technology

NASA officially unveils 'son of Concorde' X-59 quiet supersonic plane

By T.K. Randall
January 16, 2024

Image: AI-generated (Midjourney) Rumors concerning NASA's secretive supersonic aircraft project had been swirling for years, but now at last the space agency has officially unveiled its new plane for all the world to see.

Named the X-59 Low Boom Flight Demonstration aircraft, the plane was revealed at an event at Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works facilities in Palmdale, California on Friday.

Measuring 100ft long, capable of speeds of around 1,000 miles per hour and costing $247.5 million, the X-59 has been designed to reduce the typically deafening sonic boom to a mere 'sonic thud'.

It accomplishes this thanks to its unique shape which helps to break up the sound waves typically produced when an aircraft exceeds the speed of sound.

Around one-third of the plane's entire body is comprised of a long, slender nose while its windscreen has been replaced with a series of cameras enabling the pilot to see both in front and below.Powered by a GE Aviation F414-GE-100 jet engine, the X-59 will undergo test flights for the next couple of years above five population centers to gauge the public's reaction to its dampened booms.

The International Civil Aviation Organization's Committee on Aviation Environmental Protection (CAEP) will ultimately use this data to produce new noise regulations for supersonic flights.

"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."


Source: Aviation Week

Tags: Supersonic, X-59