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Humans may soon be able to travel faster than the speed of sound, courtesy of NASA and aerospace company Lockheed Martin.
The two organizations just unveiled the X-59 Supersonic jet, also known as "Son of Concorde," which they hope will allow people to travel from London to New York in just three-and-a-half hours at 767 miles per hour. That's very fast, in case you were wondering.
As exciting as the project sounds, it might take a bit of time before it comes a reality: before actually taking flight, the aircraft will have to pass extensive testing, specifically about its loudness.
In fact, supersonic jets have been deemed illegal across the United States and some other countries for the past half-century because of the sonic booms that startle the public below when they are flying above faster than the speed of sound.
“The 100-foot long, 30-foot wide X-59 aircraft is hoping to circumvent sound restrictions with innovative design,” reports Time Out London. “Its long, tapered nose apparently breaks up the shock waves which would ordinarily result in a sonic boom, while its streamlined design will allow it to fly at lightning speeds of 925 miles per hour—1.4 times the speed of sound.”
According to the outlet, if all goes well, the aircraft will enter the public realm by 2035. What's a bit more than a decade, after all?
“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.”
If the name Son of Concorde sounds familiar, it's because it directly calls out to the famous Concorde aircraft that was launched back in 1976 and was able to fly 1,350 miles per hour. The renowned plane was retired about two decades ago following major technical issues and a fatal crash in the year 2000.
This isn't the first time in recent years that aviation experts have been trying to cut down the time it currently takes to travel from New York to London (seven hours): in August of 2022, startup Boom Supersonic announced the expected launch of a new airline model called Overture, which is still supposed to officially be produced in 2029. The new aircraft will supposedly fly from the United States to Europe in 3.5 hours.
Where there is a will, it seems, there is a way.