Aircraft that exceed the speed of sound produce loud, booming sonic booms. Nevertheless, NASA’s groundbreaking X-59 aircraft has the potential to alter this scenario.

The space agency is preparing for the X-59’s inaugural flight in 2025, intending to convert these disruptive booms into “barely noticeable” thumps, thus facilitating supersonic flights over land. This represents a major change from over half a century ago when the U.S. prohibited commercial planes from flying at supersonic speeds over its territory. NASA’s Quiet SuperSonic Technology (QueSST) initiative is leading the charge to redefine aviation standards.

“Props to NASA for tackling this issue. For attempting to discover a genuine solution,” remarked Bob van der Linden, an aviation specialist and curator at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum, when NASA revealed the sleek X-59 design last year.

### A Supersonic Transformation in Progress

While the economic viability and need for upcoming supersonic flights remain in doubt—primarily due to the high fuel usage and increased ticket costs—this technology has the capacity to transform air travel. For example, a passenger could travel from Los Angeles to New York City in merely two and a half hours. The retired Concorde, which operated at 1,300 mph before its retirement in 2003, encountered similar obstacles. Its steep ticket prices—five times that of a 747 flight—and its restrictions against flying over land due to noise limitations ultimately resulted in its commercial demise.

NASA has teamed up with aerospace titan Lockheed Martin, granting the company a $247.5 million contract to construct the X-59. The aircraft is currently in its final testing phase, with Lockheed recently releasing photos of the airplane undergoing afterburner engine trials at its Skunk Works facility in Palmdale, California. These trials are vital for generating the thrust necessary to reach supersonic velocities, which exceed 767 mph. Once it becomes operational, the X-59 will travel at 925 mph at an altitude of 55,000 feet, flying over various U.S. communities to evaluate its capacity to reduce disruptive sonic booms.

### Engineering Breakthroughs to Control the Sonic Boom

To tackle the sonic boom issue, engineers have integrated several innovative design elements into the X-59:

– **Aerodynamic Form:** The aircraft’s elongated and streamlined shape, featuring a notably long nose, aids in “spreading out” the shockwaves produced when it surpasses the sound barrier. This lessens the power of the shockwaves, resulting in a soft “sonic thump” instead of a loud boom. “If it works, all people will hear is a soft ‘sonic thump’—or perhaps nothing at all,” NASA said.

– **Engine Positioning:** The X-59’s single, robust engine is placed atop the aircraft to ensure that the engine’s noise does not project directly toward the ground.

– **Cockpit Configuration:** Given the aircraft’s narrow design, the cockpit is situated more than halfway back on the structure, leaving no space for a forward-facing window. Instead, NASA’s eXternal Vision System (XVS) employs a high-definition 4K monitor to give pilots a clear perspective of their surroundings.

– **Swept-Back Wing Design:** The wings of the aircraft are engineered to minimize drag, boosting its aerodynamic efficiency.

### What Lies Ahead for the X-59?

After its first test flights in 2025, Lockheed Martin will transfer the X-59 to NASA. The aircraft will then proceed to undergo additional acoustic evaluations at California’s Edwards Air Force Base and Armstrong Flight Research Center. By 2026 and 2027, NASA intends to operate the X-59 over selected U.S. cities to assess its performance and collect community input.

Stay tuned—NASA’s X-59 could soon be gliding above, quietly redefining the landscape of supersonic flight.