For more than half a century, the sonic boom made commercial supersonic flight incompatible with life below. NASA’s X-59 is designed around a different premise: reshape the pressure wave itself. Its long needle nose keeps pressure waves separated so people on the ground should hear something closer to a distant car door than an explosive crack. The decisive test belongs to communities beneath the flight path. Their responses could give regulators evidence for sound-based limits rather than an absolute ban on supersonic flight over land.
Aviation
The Shape of Quiet Flight
NASA’s experimental aircraft is testing whether supersonic travel can become quiet enough for cities.
By Mara Bell1 min read