NASA will unveil new ‘quiet’ X-59 supersonic jet that will break sound barrier also silently
- NASA will unveil a ‘quiet’ X-59 supersonic jet tin a few days time
- There will be a livestream of the event
- The typically loud supersonic boom will be reduced to the volume of a car door slamming
Published on Jan 08, 2024 at 4:52 PM (UTC+4)
by Amelia Jean Hershman-Jones
Last updated on Jan 08, 2024 at 8:31 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Adam Gray
NASA will unveil an unprecedented ‘quiet’ X-59 supersonic jet later this month.
Set to drop on 12 January via a livestream, the advanced aircraft will be able to break the sound barrier without producing a signature – typically 110-decibel – sonic boom.
Designed as a collaboration by NASA and Lockheed Martin, they’ve been working on the technology since 2019.
The X-59 Quiet SuperSonic Technology – nicknamed Quesst – is designed specifically for the new jet.
The aircraft was built at Lockheed Martin’s ‘Skunk Works’ facility in Palmdale, California.
While it will fly at supersonic speeds of 1,236 km/h (768 mph) at sea level – the sonic boom you’d expect has been reduced to a ‘thump’ at the volume of a car door slamming.
The thump probably won’t even be heard from the ground.
NASA says the X-59 will “dramatically reduce passenger air travel time” without being a burden to the people who live under flight paths.
NASA is hoping that the unique X-59 supersonic jet could reshape regulations that are in place to prohibit supersonic jets flying over populated areas.
According to National Geographic, supersonic flights over land have been banned by the US Federal Aviation Administration since 1973, due to the noise disruptions that sonic booms can cause.
That’s why the famous Concorde was only able to go supersonic over water on transoceanic flights because of the sonic boom it would make.
The public can watch the X-59 rolling out of its hangar for the first time on Friday 12 January at 4 p.m. EST via a free NASA livestream.
NASA is encouraging the public to host watch parties for the rollout complete with agency-provided printable invites and free STEM toolkits for educators.
The X-59 supersonic jet has been in front of cameras only once before, in August 2023.
However, that was before it went undercover into a barn for its final red, white and blue paint finish.
What was apparent was the striking geometry of the supersonic jet.
The 99.7-foot-long (30m) X-59 supersonic jet is 29.5-foot-wide (9m).
Its streamline design will aid it reaching a speed of Mach 1.4 – or 1489 km/h (925 mph).
The aircraft will fly at an altitude of 55,000 feet (16,764m), powered by a single General Electric Aviation motor.
Its sharp, elongated beak-like nose section measuring 38 feet (11.5m) in length, means the shockwaves still form, but they never merge together.
Unusually the long nose also means that the windscreen is rendered obsolete.
Instead, pilots use what NASA calls the External Vision System, or XVS, to see the area in front of the aircraft.
This forward-facing camera has a cockpit-mounted display screen and custom image processing software.
According to a 2019 NASA statement, this will “create an augmented reality view of the X-59 pilot’s forward line-of-sight along with graphical flight data overlays.”
This is much different from the experiences of Concorde pilots.
“As one of the more recognizable features of the X-59, the nose makes up almost a third of the aircraft length and will be essential in shaping shock waves during supersonic flight, resulting in quiet sonic thumps instead of loud sonic booms,” NASA said in a statement in 2021.
“The X-59 will fly at supersonic speeds above communities as part of the Low-Boom Flight Demonstration mission, during which NASA will gather community feedback to the sound of quiet supersonic flight.
“These findings will be shared with regulators to inform decisions on current restrictions of supersonic flight over land.”
Once it’s ready for take off, the X-59 supersonic jet will undergo an extensive research campaign.
This will see it making flights over select residential areas.
After these missions, data will be collected on the population’s experience below.
Following these steps, NASA will present this vital data to regulatory agencies, such as the Federal Aviation Administration, and seek approval for commercial supersonic flights.
And this isn’t the only supersonic aircraft in contention to dominate the skies: the Boom Overture aims to replace the Concorde.
It’s 80 percent more efficient than an average airliner.
Plus, the Stargazer is a new hypersonic plane whose creators claim will fly from New York to Tokyo in one hour.
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All Supercar Blondie contributors undergo editorial review and fact-checking to ensure accuracy and authority in automotive journalism. After gaining her BA Hons in French and English at the University of Nottingham, Amelia embarked on a vocational diploma from the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ). This led to numerous opportunities, from interning at Vogue to being on the small team that launched Women’s Health magazine in the UK, which was named the PPA Consumer magazine of the year for three years running. As Health, Beauty and Fitness editor, Amelia personally received a Johnson & Johnson Award and was shortlisted for both PPA and BSME titles. Since then, Amelia has created content for numerous titles and brands, including the Telegraph, 111 Skin, Waitrose, Red magazine, Stylist, and Elle, as well as being Head of Content at Vitality and Editor in Chief at INLondon magazine. “My superpower is translating technical jargon about the mechanical workings of a supercar into a relatable story you’ll want to share with your friends after you’ve read it.” After joining the SB Media family as a senior journalist in September of 2023, Amelia’s role has evolved to see her heading up the SEO output of the editorial team. From researching the most ‘Google-able’ key terms to producing evergreen content - it’s been a time of hard work, growth, and success for the editorial team and the Supercar Blondie website. “I like to think of myself as a ‘method journalist’. In other words: I live and breathe whatever I am writing about. When writing about fitness, I trained as a personal trainer, and as a beauty editor, I completed an ‘expert’ in scent diploma with the Fragrance Foundation. “During my tenure at Supercar Blondie, however, I did something I never thought possible: I passed my driving test at the age of 36. One day I’d love to train as a mechanic to better understand what happens under the hood, too. “My sweet spot is providing readers with a ‘takeaway’ (read: something new they didn’t know before) after reading every one of my stories. While I don’t claim to be an expert in the automotive world, I know the experts and bodies in the field to rely on to provide our readers with an informative and thought-provoking story every time they visit the site.”
