Today’s debut of NASA’s X-59 low-boom supersonic jet brought not even a whisper of a sonic boom — because it stayed on the ground at Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works facility in Palmdale, Calif.
But later this year, the long, pointy plane is due to test out technologies aimed at reducing the noise that’s associated with supersonic aircraft — and removing obstacles to routine super-high-speed air travel.
At today’s rollout ceremony, NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy said the X-59 is designed to produce a “gentle thump” rather than the thunderous boom created when an aircraft breaks the sound barrier.
“This breakthrough really redefines the feasibility of commercial supersonic travel over land,” she said. “It brings us closer to a future that we can all understand — cutting flight time from New York to Los Angeles in half.”
The one-of-a-kind experimental aircraft will take a significant step in NASA’s effort to gather data about low-boom technologies, including the tapered-nose design that’s meant to break up the shock waves that bring on the boom. The X-59’s delta wings, smooth underside and top engine placement are also expected to reduce shock-wave effects.
Another change has to do with the cockpit. Because of the plane’s aerodynamic requirements, a forward-facing window wouldn’t be practical. Instead, the X-59 is equipped with an external visibility system, or XVS, that feeds imagery from a front-facing camera to a screen in the cockpit.
For 50 years, the United States and other nations have prohibited commercial supersonic flights over land, primarily because of the unsettling effects of sonic booms on the communities below. Such restrictions were among the factors that led to the end of supersonic passenger service in 2003. (Cost and safety were also factors.)
NASA and Lockheed Martin, the prime contractor for the X-59, plan to fly the 99.7-foot-long, 29.5-foot-wide aircraft at speeds of up to 1.4 times the speed of sound, or 925 mph. Flight tests will begin at the Skunk Works, and then the X-59 will be transferred to its base of operations nearby at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center.
Once flight tests are complete, NASA will fly the X-59 over several yet-to-be-selected cities across the U.S., collecting input about the sound generated by the jet and how it’s perceived. The resulting data will be provided to the Federal Aviation Administration and its international counterparts.
It’ll be up to the FAA and other regulatory agencies to decide whether and how much to change its policies on supersonic flight to accommodate the technologies tested on the X-59.
Some companies are already gearing up to test commercial supersonic jets. California-based Boom Supersonic says it’s conducting ground tests of its XB-1 prototype and plans to begin flight tests this year. Boom is aiming to have its full-scale Overture jet in service by 2030.
