What does a low boom aircraft design do?
The Low-boom Flight Demonstration mission has two goals: 1) design and build a piloted, large-scale supersonic X-plane with technology that reduces the loudness of a sonic boom to that of a gentle thump; and 2) fly the X-plane over select U.S. communities to gather data on human responses to the low-boom flights and …
What is SST in aviation?
A supersonic transport (SST) or a supersonic airliner is a civilian supersonic aircraft designed to transport passengers at speeds greater than the speed of sound. To date, the only SSTs to see regular service have been Concorde and the Tupolev Tu-144.
Is quiet supersonic flight possible?
Just like birds are perfectly designed, this airplane is being perfectly designed to fly supersonic as quiet as it can.” If NASA’s X-59 QueSST program succeeds, flying faster than the speed of sound may be possible again for the first time since the Concorde was retired in 2003.
How does quiet supersonic technology work?
During supersonic flight, planes create shockwaves that merge together as they travel through the air to produce the sonic boom. X-59 is designed so that, when flying faster than the speed of sound, people on the ground will hear nothing more than a quiet sonic thump – rather than a loud sonic boom.
Will supersonic passenger planes boom again?
United Airlines has announced it will purchase up to 50 Boom Overture supersonic jets for commercial use by 2029, heralding the return of supersonic passenger flights nearly 20 years after the Concorde was decommissioned.
Why did they stop using the SST?
The Concorde airframes still had 75% life left when they were retired. The reason they chose to stop is the French wanted to stop maintaining all of them after the crash caused by debris on the runway. British Airways did not want to stop.
Can sonic booms be quiet?
The FAA prohibits supersonic flight over land, except in special military flight corridors. The Quiet Spike is able to suppress sonic booms a little, but a Quiet Spike alone is not effective enough to circumvent the current ban on supersonic overflight.
Why was supersonic flight banned?
These studies, along with tens of thousands of claims against the Air Force for property damage—horses and turkeys had supposedly died or gone insane—led the F.A.A. to ban civil overland supersonic flight, in 1973.
Is it illegal to fly faster than the speed of sound?
Supersonic air travel occurs when an aircraft travels faster than the speed of sound, also referred to as Mach One. Over U.S. soil it is currently illegal to break the sound barrier, but now the FAA says as part of its new legislation it wants to reverse the 1973 rules that banned civil supersonic flight.