“A new chapter”: NASA presents its new supersonic aircraft, the X-59

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The Concorde was not an economic success and the shock after the 2000 catastrophe is still deep. But the fascination with supersonics has remained. New projects are in the starting blocks – and now NASA wants to present theirs.

About 30 meters long, ten meters wide, pointed at the front and largely turquoise: the X-59 looks futuristic. In 2018, the American space agency NASA put the aircraft into service with the defense company Lockheed Martin – and now wants to revolutionize supersonic flight. On Friday, January 12, NASA wants to publicly present the core of its ‘Quessst’ mission (Quiet SuperSonic Technology). Flight tests are planned for later.

“We are absolutely ready to write a new chapter in the history of supersonic flight and make land air travel twice as fast, but in a way that is safe, sustainable and much quieter than before,” says NASA manager Peter Coen.

Commemoration of the Concorde disaster in 2000

The special thing about the X-59: the machine must be able to fly without supersonic noise. In supersonic flight, the airspeed is greater than the speed of sound in the area around the aircraft. When an airplane breaks the sound barrier in mid-air, there is a very loud bang. Because this worries and bothers many people, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has, among other things, banned all civilian supersonic flights over the US until further notice.

The car door slamming. Lockheed Martin received approximately $250 million from NASA to develop the aircraft. NASA now wants to collect more data during flights over select regions of the US.

The X-59 brings the return of supersonic flight closer – approximately twenty years after the end of the legendary Concorde. The elegant, snow-white supersonic jet with delta wings and pointed nose was once the ultimate between Paris, London and New York. For a quarter of a century, the plane enabled jetsetters and top executives to fly from Europe to New York in three and a half hours – after sunset in Europe and before sunset in the US.

In July 2000, a disaster struck: shortly after takeoff from Paris airport, a Concorde crashed, killing all 109 passengers and four people on the ground. The cause of the accident was a strip of metal lying on the runway – the beginning of the end for the “Queen of the Skies”. Added to this was the aviation crisis following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 and rapidly rising maintenance costs. Given the large losses, it was over in 2003. On October 24, 2003, the last commercially used supersonic jet aircraft from British Airways and Air France landed in London. The legendary Concorde can only be admired in museums.

“Fantastic to be part of this future”

But the fascination with supersonics persisted and there has been no shortage of plans for a successor since then. However, they have not yet been implemented. But now other companies besides NASA and Lockheed Martin are also working on supersonic jets. The American start-up Boom, among others, is currently leading the way. Work is underway on ‘Overture’, an aircraft for up to 55 passengers that should be faster and significantly more efficient than the Concorde.

“Ticket prices should be comparable to today’s business class so that the horizons of millions of travelers can be expanded,” company boss Blake Scholl said in a statement. “Ultimately, our goal is that everyone should be able to afford supersonic flight.”

United Airlines, among others, has already ordered aircraft from Boom. However, planned test flights were repeatedly postponed. The American company Aerion, founded in 2002, is also developing, with the support of Airbus, a business jet for up to twelve passengers that will travel one and a half times the speed of sound.

“We’re talking about a future where people can spend less time traveling and more time at their destination – with family, at work or visiting new places,” says NASA scientist Jonathan Rathsam. “It’s a way to shrink the world and it’s exciting to be part of that future.” (SDA)

Source: Blick