Plane achieves supersonic travel without the sonic boom
- This plane achieved supersonic travel without the sonic boom
- No loud noise was heard as it soared high
- The plane in question was the XB-1 by Boom Supersonic
Published on Mar 25, 2025 at 8:55 PM (UTC+4)
by Grace Donohoe
Last updated on Mar 25, 2025 at 8:55 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Amelia Jean Hershman-Jones
A jet plane has achieved supersonic travel without the sonic boom.
The XB-1 managed to reach record-breaking speeds.
However, after data was collected, it was discovered that no sonic boom was reached.
So what happened – and would human ears be able to hear it?
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Different planes have achieved many milestones over the years.
In fact, a French plane is even set to become the world’s first hydrogen-powered electric business jet.
And if that wasn’t enough, the US is even leading the way in what could become the first hypersonic jets built using 3D printing.
Enter Boom Supersonic
The company created the XB-1 to soar at supersonic speeds right up high in the sky.
During a test flight, an image captured by NASA showed that flying at these speeds without an actual sonic boom is actually quite possible.
The mission of the flight was to asses jet performance above Mach 1 – with the second supersonic flight following the pioneering adventure on January 28, 2025.
The XB-1 achieved supersonic travel without a sonic boom
Yes, that’s right – the plane did manage to break the sound barrier but no actual sonic boom occurred – quite the contradiction, don’t you think?
Boom itself stated that: “Boom analysis found that no audible sonic boom reached the ground as the jet flew at supersonic speeds.”
It was all confirmed by teams on the ground, you see, who said that the XB-1 broke the sound barrier, not one, not two, but three times.
But hey, it’s still pretty cool that a jet can fly that fast up above our heads, right? And three is a charm, as they say.
It’s all to do with Mach cutoff, which is when a sonic boom ‘refracts in the atmosphere’ but never actually gets down to the ground.
So all the science is happening, but our ears are protected.
What is a sonic boom?
Well, according to NASA it is the ‘thunder-like noise a person on the ground hears when an aircraft or other type of aerospace vehicle flies overhead faster than the speed of sound or supersonic.”
The air basically has a fluid response to supersonic things travelling up high, as air molecules are actually forced aside.
The next job for Boom? Making it economically possible to fly at this high speed- so watch this space as high-speed travel is certainly beckoning on the horizon.
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