Why It's Important: Theft is always the fastest way to travel the world. Supersonic commercial airliners could significantly shorten trips, bringing a lot of new business and travel opportunities. Although supersonic flight has been possible for decades, noise has always been a major problem up until now.
Earlier this year, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company won a $ 247.5 million contract for the construction of a silent aircraft capable of supersonic flying. NASA has worked closely with the contractor on research efforts and will now bring several experiments directly to the general public.
Currently, tests are underway on NASA-controlled sites by performing special maneuvers in the F / A-18. Staff and volunteers observe and describe the supersonic shockwave experiments when the F / A-18 is plunged on a steep slope and back up after reaching Mach 1.1.
Following dives at supersonic speeds, the hunter generates two sound booms. The pair of shock waves is concentrated down on the test area and dissipates in front of the plane. As the distance increases, the sonic booms are reduced to a little more than the dull blows that can be imperceptible without a trained ear.
Later this year, in November, NASA will fly F / A-18 fighter jets over Galveston, Texas, and conduct the diving maneuver to expose the city to loud bells. More than 500 residents will be invited to give their opinion on what they hear, if at all, and to describe the discomfort experienced.
NASA researchers and Lockheed Martin engineers seek to exploit the properties of how sound waves combine and dissipate to produce an experimental design that can discreetly switch to supersonic mode. The X-59 will still produce several shock waves, but instead of associating and forming a more concentrated sound, the waves will stay separate and decrease more quickly.
Residents' comments will be poured into the design of the X-59 that could begin its first test flights in 2021. X-59 flights over populated areas will not begin until at least 2023.
Ongoing efforts to develop a discrete supersonic flight could lead to commercial air travel at higher speeds than ever before. The current ban on supersonic flights over land is already under review due to new rules proposed by the FAA in 2019 that could allow commercial aircraft meeting noise requirements to break Mach 1.
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