NASA and Lockheed Martin launch the “Son of Concorde” supersonic aircraft for the first time

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by Jesse O’Neill

Aviation officials have unveiled for the first time a new supersonic plane capable of flying faster than the speed of sound and flying from New York to London in three-and-a-half hours.

NASA and Lockheed Martin rolled out the 100-foot-long, 30-foot-wide supersonic plane, dubbed the “Son of Concorde,” on Friday, a project innovation officials said they expect to revamp commercial air travel.

The Concorde, which can travel at speeds of 1,350 miles per hour, was retired for about 20 years after its launch in 1976, suffered costly maintenance and a fatal crash in 2000.

Its new offspring can travel at speeds of 925 mph while generating a sonic boom that is less disruptive to communities below due to innovations in design, formation and technology, officials said.

Over the past half-century, the United States and other countries have banned supersonic flights because of the incredible booms that occur when planes exceed the speed of sound, which is 767 miles per hour, NASA noted in a press release.

The plane’s thin, tapering nose was expected to break up shock waves that would cause a sonic boom in a conventional plane, and the cockpit is located about halfway up the plane’s length, meaning pilots would have to rely on camera displays to operate it.

X-59 is part of NASA’s Quest mission, which aims to “provide data to help regulators reconsider” the ban.

“This is a major accomplishment that was only possible through the hard work and creativity of NASA and the entire X-59 team,” said NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Milroy.

“In just a few years, we have gone from ambitious concept to reality. NASA’s X-59 will help change the way we travel, bringing us closer together in much less time.

The Quesst team is now turning to prepare for the plane’s maiden flight, scheduled for later this year, through integrated systems testing, engine commissioning, and taxi testing.

After the first flight, the X-59 will embark on its first “quiet supersonic flight,” officials said.

“It’s exciting to consider the level of ambition behind Quesst and its potential benefits,” said Bob Pierce, associate administrator for flight research at NASA Headquarters in Washington.

“NASA will share the data and technology we generate from this unique mission with regulators and industry. By demonstrating the potential for quiet commercial supersonic travel across Earth, we seek to open new commercial markets for American companies and benefit travelers around the world.”

NASA cautioned that the X-59 was a “one-of-a-kind experimental aircraft,” not a prototype that could be replicated in commercial endeavors.

The project costs $632 million over eight years, according to Bloomberg.