Nasa unveils X-59 supersonic aircraft that can fly faster than the speed of sound quietly
- The jet, which is around 30m long, has been designed to fly without a supersonic bang
- The first flight tests over selected regions of the US are planned for later this year
The US space agency Nasa has presented its new supersonic aircraft X-59 to the public for the first time.
The jet, which is around 30m long and pointed at the front with a wingspan of around 10m, was unveiled on Friday at a site belonging to defence contractor Lockheed Martin in the US state of California. Nasa streamed live images of the unveiling over the internet.
The aircraft is the centrepiece of Nasa’s “Quesst” (Quiet Supersonic Technology) mission. The first flight tests over selected regions of the US are planned for later this year, during which further data will be collected.
The X-59 is an “approximately 30m long step forward on a path that began decades ago, towards sustainable commercial supersonic flight”, said Nasa manager Bob Pearce. Nasa Vice-President Pam Melroy described the aircraft as “another jewel in Nasa’s crown.”
The special thing about the X-59 is that the aircraft should be able to fly without a supersonic bang. When flying supersonically, the airspeed is greater than the speed of sound in the vicinity of the aircraft. If an aircraft breaks through the sound barrier in the air, there is a very loud bang, the “sonic boom.”