NASA PREPARES $247 MILLION SUPERSONIC JET FOR FIRST FLIGHT

NASA is preparing to fly its X-59 experimental supersonic aircraft, a jet built to travel faster than the speed of sound while producing a quieter noise signature than conventional supersonic planes. The aircraft cost $247 million to develop. The X-59 replaces the traditional sonic boom with a softer thumping sound at ground level. The jet is capable of completing a London-to-New York flight in under four hours.

The X-59 program addresses the primary obstacle that grounded commercial supersonic flight after the Concorde era: noise regulation. Concorde was retired in 2003, in part because its sonic boom restricted it to over-ocean routes and prevented overland supersonic travel. NASA designed the X-59 with a specially shaped fuselage intended to break up the shockwaves that produce a sonic boom. The resulting sound reaching the ground is significantly reduced compared to previous supersonic aircraft.

NASA intends to fly the X-59 over populated areas and collect data on how residents perceive the reduced noise. That data will be submitted to aviation regulators, including the FAA and international counterparts, to inform potential updates to rules that currently ban overland supersonic commercial flight. A change in those regulations could reopen the possibility of supersonic passenger routes across land masses. The X-59 program represents NASA's formal attempt to build the scientific and regulatory case for that outcome.