Flying at supersonic speeds without a sonic boom – that is one of the goals for NASA’s X-59 Quesst passenger plane. (dpa / abaca)
The passenger plane “X-59 Quesst” is supposed to fly at an altitude of 16 kilometers at 1,500 kilometers per hour. It is 30 meters long, ten meters wide and tapers to a point. NASA commissioned it from the defense company Lockheed Martin. The aim is to make air traffic twice as fast, safe, sustainable and quieter than before. If an airplane breaks the sound barrier and flies faster than sound, it bangs. With the X-59 you should only hear a quiet noise. Extensive flight tests are planned starting next year. Other companies are also working on commercial supersonic aircraft. The ticket prices should be similar to those for business class. The then Concorde flew from Europe to the USA in three to four hours. In 2000, one of the planes operated by British Airways and Air France crashed shortly after takeoff from Paris. All 109 occupants and four people on the ground died.
This message was sent on January 12, 2024 on the Deutschlandfunk program.