NASA Shows X-59 Supersonic Plane, Ready to Launch Next Year

United States space agency NASA showing off an incredible timelapse of the X-59 supersonic jet, which is nearly complete. Dubbed the “Son of Concorde”, the newest member of NASA’s experimental X-Planes family is expected to fly for the first time next year.

The aircraft is officially named X-59 Quiet SuperSonic Technology or QueSST. This supersonic aircraft was assembled by contractor Lockheed Martin Skunk Works in Palmdale, California.

This supersonic jet is designed to reach a very high speed of 925 miles per hour or about 1.4 times the speed of sound. For comparison, the once commercial Concorde aircraft reached speeds of Mach 2.04 or 1,354 mph.

Despite losing in speed, the X-59 is superior to the Concorde because its design is designed to dampen “sonic boom”. This is the key factor that will allow the X-59 to fly over the Americas next year.

NASA explained, the X-59 will not cause a large sonic explosion and its sound is only around 75 PLdB or about as loud as a closed car door.

Jay Brandon, NASA’s chief engineer for the Low Boom Flight Demonstrator (LBFD) project, said he was pursuing the goal of getting this state-of-the-art aircraft completed on time.

Video: Dailymail
Editor: Ridian Eka Saputra

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