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Needle-nose X-59 jet just hit a major milestone in the quest to cut long-haul flight times in half
NASA’s experimental X-59 jet marked one year since its first flight with a journey to Kennedy Space Center, after completing 41 flights. The aircraft is designed to make supersonic travel quieter by turning the usual loud sonic boom into a softer “glide thump”, a change that could help make faster passenger flights over populated areas possible.
The X-59 is designed to reach 925 mph, or Mach 1.4, at 55,000 feet. If its technology could be adapted for passenger aircraft, a New York to London journey might take 3.5 hours, while New York to Los Angeles could take 2.5 hours instead of the usual five to six. The programme is estimated to cost $630 million; commercial supersonic flights in the US ended when Concorde was retired in 2003.
In short
- NASA’s X-59 has completed 41 flights in its first year.
- It aims to make supersonic flight quieter over populated areas.
- Its target speed could cut some long-haul journey times substantially.
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